Musketeers
by Trackies
Summary: On November 1st, 2011, Teddy Lupin sat in detention with another Gryffindor boy and they shared a joke. It was their first joke - and perhaps their most significant. Teddy didn't know much about friendships, or matters of the heart, but he would learn, and Professor Longbottom would come to regret putting those two boys in detention.
1. New Year's Eve

**Disclaimer: JK**

**Summary:** Teddy Lupin had people who hated him; people who would like nothing better than to see him fail. He had friends who would save him dinner so he wouldn't starve after a late detention. But Teddy Lupin only had one friend who would laugh at him through the door before trying to bust him out. And Teddy would do the same for him.

* * *

**Prologue**

**New Years Eve**

* * *

December 31st, 2015

(Fifteen minutes until midnight, to be precise.)

"Do you think people will ever tell stories about us?"

Teddy would have been lying if he said the thought came unbidden. He had been thinking about it for a while before the words left his lips. With only a handful of months until graduation, Joanna told him he was just worried about entering the big, wide, outside world without the stability Hogwarts provided. She was right, loathe as Teddy was to admit it.

Edward Remus "Teddy" Lupin had grown up on stories about his Marauder father and his famous godfather. He was the latest in the line of a famous legacy and __that __had been weighing on his mind.

His father had friends - famous friends at Hogwarts. So did his godfather. Harry Potter wouldn't be around if it weren't for his friends. And who would Teddy be without his best friend, who was sipping firewhisky in front of the fire and whispering his own story into beautiful, bug-eyed Cecelia Dearborn's ear?

Probably not much at all.

Teddy Lupin had people who hated him; people who would like nothing better than to see him fail. He had friends who would save him dinner so he wouldn't starve after a late detention – or do something stupid like sneak off to the kitchens at eleven at night with only a patchy disillusionment charm to conceal himself.

But Teddy had only one friend who would laugh at him through the door before charming two nearby suits of armour to fight each other in an attempt to distract Professor Cousland for long enough to bust him out.

And Teddy would do the same for him.

"What'd you say?" his best friend said, looking away from Cecelia Dearborn's eyes.

Of course, __of course__, he wasn't listening the first time.

"Do you think people will ever tell stories about us?" Teddy repeated.

"Maybe," his best friend said, shrugging.

That night Edward Remus Lupin realised something; something that he had been thinking about for a while, but never managed to grasp until now. "Do you remember that week of detentions we had in third year?"

"__The __detentions?" his best friend laughed.

And Teddy did too.

Because that night he finally understood.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, heyyyyy. Thanks for reading, if you've made it this far. Before we really begin, I want to shout out fanfic author Jewels5, whose story: The Life and Times had a huge influence on me writing this. This isn't a story about James Potter and Lily Evans and how they came to be. This isn't even really a romance (though there will be a lion's share of that). I wanted to write a story about two best friends and how they shape each other's lives. There will be jokes. There will be bromance. There will be lows points and highs. If that interests you, stick with me. :)

Reviews are nice, like finding forgotten packs of M&amp;Ms in the back of the fridge.

The first chapter is maybe three quarters finished, so look out for that in the next few days.

Laters,

Trackies


	2. Chapter 1: The Post-Halloween Detention

**Chapter One**

\- The Post-Halloween Detention -

* * *

They became friends on the day after Halloween during their third year.

All it took was a joke, while they were slathered in wood polish and cleaning oil. They weren't allowed to leave until every portrait frame on the fourth floor had been cleaned and polished to perfection.

There were seventy-four portraits on the fourth floor.

And some of portraits were very particular about how their frames were cleaned.

The worst was the portrait of Sir William the Scarred, a medium-sized man dressed in glittering chainmail beneath a set of flowing brown robes. He was set in the largest and thickest mahogany frame on the entire floor and was very, _very_, proud of it. He would screech and screech until his frame _gleamed_ with polished perfection. After every cleaning he told whoever unfortunate enough to listen how he single-handled saved Henry V's life during the Battle of Agincourt. Though whether that was true or not was neither here nor there.

William the Scarred was directing them on the proper way to clean the layer of dust on the top of his frame (do not sweep it off, ye fool! Go gently with that cloth, boy.), when one boy muttered a choice remark under his breath, which made the other laugh loudly and made William the Scarred breathe an offended breath.

Professor Longbottom would eventually come to regret putting Teddy Lupin and Connor Lennox together on detention.

Before that night, the pair barely spoke, even though they shared a dormitory. Felix Flynn, the third and final member of their dorm room (Gryffindor seemed to lack brave males that particular Sorting year) often found himself torn between the pair as one went left and the other went right, both refusing to bend and neither willing to walk the metaphorical high road filled with heart-felt apologies and good intentions.

They laughed and began _really_ talking for the first time since they clashed on the Hogwarts Express in their first year.

Teddy Lupin's parents died before his first birthday.

Connor Lennox's mother refused to talk about his dad.

Teddy Lupin grew up surrounded by people who loved him.

Connor Lennox grew up without a strong male figure in his life.

They both loved stories about the Marauders.

And Harry Potter too.

They agreed that Annalise Greengrass was the best looking girl in their year.

And that Shaun Carver was the biggest twat.

Neither of them cared when they heard Lance Avery had to spend yesterday night in the Hospital Wing (We'll get to that, don't worry).

Though they claimed the root of their friendship began at different times, with different moments of misbehaviour, they would later agree that Lance Avery was the one who unwittingly bought them together.

* * *

\- The Jealous Seed -

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a pureblood wizard who struggled to stand out. Lance Avery was not brave, nor very ambitious, nor was he particularly intelligent (Oh, he knew a lot of things about this and that, but knowing things does not make one intelligent, by any means). What he _was_, however, was loyal to his family and that was his most defining characteristic as an eleven year old boy.

He sat in the first car of the Hogwarts Express and chatted loudly to anyone who would listen about his family and their stories from Hogwarts. He also bragged about being in the first boat that carried the nervous first years across the lake towards the castle that almost seemed to glow in the moonlight (but he wasn't nervous though, not at all).

He walked at the front of the line, leading the thirty-or-so first years into the Great Hall on September 1st, 2009. He was the first put the Sorting Hat onto his head. He was the first to sit nervously as the disembodied voice of the Hat poked through his mind and shouted its decision.

He was the first member of his family of noble Gryffindors, nobler Ravenclaws and noblest Slytherins to be Sorted into Hufflepuff in over a century.

And he was not happy about that at all.

Neither was his older brother, whose dark eyes glinted angrily at Lance from the Slytherin table. Lance already dreaded facing Abney after the Feast.

Lance sulked for the rest of the Sorting, watching jealously as the other first years joined their Houses.

Maddy Bishop went to Slytherin.

Shawn Carver went to Ravenclaw.

Cecelia Dearborn went to Gryffindor.

Laura Dickey went to Hufflepuff and sat next to him.

Joanna Fawley went to Gryffindor.

Felix Flynn went to Gryffindor.

Annalise Greengrass went to Ravenclaw.

Connor Lennox went to Gryffindor.

So did Teddy Lupin.

He would eventually decide that he _really_ didn't like the boy with green hair who had been sorted into Gryffindor.

Lance knew in his heart of hearts that he was jealous of Teddy Lupin. He would vehemently deny it to anyone who accused him of it. He denied it to himself as well, but envy has a way of filling a person's entire being until that person becomes as green as Teddy Lupin's hair. Lance _hated_ it when Teddy Lupin changed his hair colour. He hated it when Lupin made his eyes flash from blue, to green, to bubblegum pink, just to see it someone would notice. And he absolutely hated it when Lupin transformed to show off. During Halloween in their second year, Lupin transformed himself into a werewolf and chased a group of first years down the third floor corridors.

It wasn't fair.

He hated himself for wishing he could do it too.

Lance wasn't envious of Lupin at first, not by any means. Early on he decided that if he was going to be in Hufflepuff then he would work as hard as he could to make his old family of Slytherins and Ravenclaws proud of him. He would be the best in his year. He would show everyone that the Sorting Hat was wrong.

Even the best laid plans have set backs.

During the third week of classes, Professor Flitwick hovered a box of feathers in front of them and told them to take one. Lance knew what was coming and he grinned confidently. His older brother had told him that one of the very first spells first years learnt was the levitation spell.

After ten minutes of wand waving and incantations, Lance had only managed to make his feather roll over a few inches in the air, but that was more than anyone else in the class.

"Very good, Mr Avery," Professor Flitwick said as he waddled over. "Ten points to Hufflepuff."

Lance puffed his chest out and made his feather zoom around the bench in front of him.

Joanna Fawley sat next to him with her wand poised lightly in her left hand. She was staring at her feather so intently it seemed likely to burst into flames. At the sight of Lance's feather spinning about above the table, she tore her eyes away from her own feather and whispered to him, "How did you do that?"

"You have to give your wand a little flick at the end of the incantation," Lance informed her proudly.

Joanna frowned and gave her wand a sharp flick as she muttered the incantation. Her feather shot across the bench with more force than appeared possible and pinned itself to Flitwick's chalkboard.

The green haired boy sitting right at the back of the classroom laughed loudly.

"A little less ... vehemence next time, Miss Fawley," Flitwick said as he waved his wand and retrieved Joanna's feather.

"Sorry, Professor," Joanna said, cheeks scarlet.

"It's quite all right. You've almost got it," Flitwick said encouragingly.

Joanna's nodded and turned to shrug at Lance, who smiled.

"Try again," he said.

Joanna's tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth as she chanted, "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_ and swished her wand in a small circle before giving it a much lighter flick. Her feather twitched for a second before rising shakily in the air – though not as high as Lance's, of course.

Joanna's face broke out into a broad grin. Lance was just about to congratulate her when Professor Flitwick's high-pitched voice made him swallow his words.

"Excellent work, Mr Lupin," Flitwick exclaimed, watching intently as the green-haired boy at the back raised his wand and levitated his feather towards the ceiling. Lupin waved his wand again and pushed his feather closer and closer towards the hundred candle chandelier dangling from the roof.

"Do be careful!" Flitwick squeaked. Lupin grinned as his feather touched one of the small flames and quickly went up in a bright yellow light.

"That was quite unnecessary, Mr Lupin," Flitwick said as he waved his wand and made the burning feather disappear.

"Sorry, Professor," Teddy Lupin said, without really sounding sorry at all.

_Git_, Lance thought as he turned his attention back to his feather.

Yes, Lance was jealous of Teddy Lupin, and he hated it.

* * *

\- Hanging with Cecelia -

* * *

Near the end of his second year at Hogwarts, Teddy Lupin decided he very much wanted to kiss Cecelia Dearborn. For a long time he wasn't even sure why. Of all Cecelia's defining qualities, it was her eyes that stood out to him most of all. They were dark blue and far, far too big for her face. Teddy couldn't help but think they made her look like a giant bug and he was hardly quiet about sharing the comparison. He made her cry once during Potions after comparing a pair of engorged fly eyes to Cecelia's. He had served his third detention for the year and lost Gryffindor ten points.

After that, she was never too far from his thoughts.

It was too bad she didn't want anything to do with him.

Later, during his seventh year, when Cecelia was relaxing one evening in his best friend's arms; Teddy would reflect that he had maybe been a bit too mean to Cecelia Dearborn in their early years at Hogwarts.

It wasn't until October in his third year when he was following Cecelia up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower that he realised he liked the way her hips moved when she walked. It was a momentous realisation for him.

There was a Hogsmaede trip that weekend – the first for the school year. Teddy was taken with image of walking next to Cecelia as they explored the town. He imagined her laughing, eyes sparkling as she laughed at one of his jokes.

"Hey, Cecelia," Teddy said loudly and smiled his most charming smile. He was never one to feel nervous about anything, but his heart was close to racing now.

Cecelia paused halfway up the staircase and looked around. She was smiling when she turned around and it made Teddy's insides twist and squeeze.

He decided that she had a really nice smile too.

Too bad that straight-teethed, gorgeous smile disappeared when she realised he was the one who had called her name.

"Yes?" she said, a little too stiffly.

He was going to say sorry for that comment back in first year, he really was. She was staring at him with her eyebrows slightly turned down in a frown. Annalise Greengrass waited a couple of steps in front of her and she was looking at him too in an odd mixture of curiosity and disapproval. Teddy had never bothered to talk to Cecelia before, why would he now?

"I..."

As he lifted his foot to take a step closer to Cecelia, he felt something wrap around his ankle and jerk it backwards into the air. Teddy lost his balance and dropped his wand and astronomy books as he was suspended upside down by his ankle.

Laughter filled his ears and he felt his cheeks burn hot and bright. "What the hell?" he shouted and to his mortification he heard his voice crack and become high-pitched as he shouted "hell". Fuck puberty.

He looked around wildly, searching for his wand. He spotted it on the edge of the staircase, rolling precariously back and forwards. Teddy reached out his hand and stretched his fingers towards the polished handle. It was so close...

A black-shoed foot tapped the wand and sent it spinning over the edge.

"Oh, sorry about that," the mocking voice of Lance Avery said loudly.

Teddy looked up and saw Avery walking casually up the stairs. His wand was out and pointed at Teddy's trapped ankle. He was smiling that arrogant little grin he was always prone to wear.

"Hello, Avery," Teddy said, pushing as much confidence and nonchalance into his voice as he could whilst hanging by his ankle. "I see your head's deflated back to normal."

Avery didn't visibly react, although Teddy could have sworn his ears became a bit pinker. Avery dipped his hand sharply and Teddy was forced to shield his face with his arms as he fell heavily onto the staircase. He was back in the air again before he could even open his eyes.

"Let me down, Avery," Teddy said sharply.

"I don't think I will," Avery said lazily as he shook Lupin from side to side. You've still got so many things I can push off the staircase." He stepped down towards Teddy's sealed ink-pot, which had somehow, miraculously survived the fall from his pocket. Avery toed the pot with his shoe before kicking it off the edge of the spiral staircase. After a few seconds, the sound of shattering glass echoed upwards.

Teddy was suddenly very concerned about the state of his wand.

Avery walked back down a few stairs, just out of Teddy's reach and picked up Teddy's copy of _Understanding the Stars_. He opened it with one hand and leafed through a few of the pages before hefting it over the banister.

"Let him down, Lance," Joanna Fawley said as she pushed through to the front of the small crowd watching the altercation on the lower stairs. Connor Lennox was behind her, face stiff and unreadable. At least they weren't laughing like the rest of them.

"You want him to go down?" Avery shrugged and dipped his wand again. Teddy went crashing into the staircase again before being jerked back up. He could feel bruises swelling up on his forearms. He snarled at Avery and made another useless grasp for the Hufflepuff's robes.

"Lance!" Joanna said sharply. She had pulled out her wand, but was holding it by her side. Connor had one hand deep inside his wand pocket too.

"Just a minute, Fawley," Avery said. "Lupin still has his shoes." He waved his wand and Teddy felt his shoe be forcibly pulled off his foot.

There was a small wave of sniggering from the group behind Joanna as Avery dropped the shoe over the other side of the railing.

Teddy saw Cecelia Dearborn hiding her smile behind one hand. It made her eyes look even bigger. It's funny how quickly humiliation can turn into white hot rage (but not really).

"What are you looking at, bug eyes," Teddy snarled at Cecelia. It wasn't his wittiest insult, but, hey, he was under duress.

The smile fled from Cecelia's face and a deep flush crept over her cheeks. Her eyes _gleamed_ brightly and unlike Teddy's fantasy, it was not from laughter.

Ironically, at that moment, as he was hanging by his ankle more than two feet in the air, Teddy Lupin realised he liked Cecelia Dearborn's big, buggy, blue eyes too.

It was Annalise Greengrass who answered for Cecelia. "You are such a git, Lupin," she said as she put her arm around Cecelia's shoulders and led her away.

Teddy felt like he had been punched. Avery jerked his wand upwards and shook Teddy in midair. Teddy snarled and made another grab for his robes, but Avery jerked him back out of reach before he could even touch them with his fingers.

"That was very rude, Lupin," Avery said. "I think you should apologise."

Teddy gritted his teeth.

"Avery!" Joanna screeched and raised her wand.

"I don't want him to say sorry," Cecelia said from the top of the staircase, voice firm and cheeks red. "Just let him down, Lance."

"You sure?" Lance lazily flicked his wand upwards and Teddy was pulled higher into the air.

Cecelia nodded and the magical grip on his ankle fled as if it never been there at all. Teddy fell heavily onto the staircase, shoeless, bookless and wandless.

Teddy's arms throbbed in pain as he pushed himself to his knees. He looked at Cecelia and Annalise as they turned around and disappeared into the Astronomy classroom.

His eyes didn't linger on them for long. Teddy wanted nothing more than to hex Lance Avery into oblivion, but Lance was still holding his wand and Teddy's lay at the bottom of the staircase.

Avery gave Teddy one final mocking smirk as he pocketed his wand and followed Cecelia and Annalise into the classroom.

"Are you all right, Ted," Joanna said as she helped Teddy to his feet.

Teddy pushed his hair out of his face and smiled like he wasn't bothered at all. "Yeah, I'm fine, Jo. Thanks for trying to help."

"You should tell Professor Sinistra," she said insistently. "Lance shouldn't get away with doing that."

But Teddy was already shaking his head. "It's not worth it." The last thing he wanted was for teachers to get involved. "You should get to class."

"Do you want help getting your stuff?" Joanna asked.

"Naw," Teddy said. "I'll see you inside. He strode past Joanna and Connor and through the other students who had only watched. They parted for him quickly, almost as though they were afraid Avery would do to them what he did to Teddy if he touched them. Some were looking at him with amusement, but Teddy much preferred those looks to the ones full of pity.

Teddy decided not to say or do anything as he climbed all the way back down the staircase to retrieve his wand and books. The wand was no worse for wear (thankfully), just splattered with ink which was easy enough to wipe away. Teddy frowned at his Astronomy textbook as he shoved his foot back inside his shoe. Some of the pages had been bent and covered in ink. He held it by the book's top cover as he ran his wand along the pages and Vanished the spilt ink away.

Professor Sinistra was comparing Wizarding constellations and how those born under different signs exhibited different personality traits when Teddy walked into the classroom. He shrugged when she asked him why he was so late. Staying behind to pack up the classroom when everyone had gone was a small price to pay.

Cecelia and Annalise were sitting together right at the front. Neither of them even looked at him when he walked past them to take his customary seat near the back of the classroom.

Lance did though, and smiled that smug little smirk he was prone to wear. Connor Lennox looked at him too, but looked away very quickly when he met Teddy's eyes.

Professor Sinistra was describing how Leo and Virgo are linked together when inspiration struck Teddy like a lightning bolt to his brain.

He was going to put Lance Avery in his place.

And he knew just what to do too.

* * *

\- Fruit Salad -

Or

\- The strawberry that made Lance Avery hang Teddy Lupin upside down above the Astronomy Tower Staircase -

* * *

Connor Lennox made the Gryffindor Quidditch team in his third year.

"You're pretty good for a kid who'd never heard of Quidditch before he came to Hogwarts," Jenna O'Connor, the team captain and seeker told him the morning after the squad lists were posted in Gryffindor common room. She slid onto the bench beside him at the Gryffindor table and hit his elbow with her own. Jenna was a short, slender girl with thick, dark hair she always wore tied back when she flew. She was lightning fast on her broomstick, so fast that even members of the Slytherin team admitted that she was _probably_ the best flier in the school.

"Thanks," Connor replied after choking down a mouthful of fruit salad. Jenna wore her hair loose around shoulders this morning and it smelled sweetly of apples and limes – and he _doubted_ the smell was just from the fruit he was eating.

"We're gonna have to get you a proper broomstick, though," Jenna added thoughtfully. "You couldn't use the school ones to sweep a floor."

Connor smiled as Jenna laughed at her joke, but his insides twisted nervously.

"You're muggleborn, aren't you?" Jenna asked.

"Umm, yeah..." Connor said.

Maybe something had shown on his face, because Jenna quickly said, "Don't worry, some of the best players in Hogwarts history have been muggleborn. Just look at Harry Potter – but he wasn't muggleborn, I suppose, just raised by them." She scratched her chin. "Point is: you'll do fine. Just try and get your hands on a better broom by November, yeah?"

She was gone with a wink and a wave ("Later, Lennox!") before Connor could say anything else. Connor watched her walk further down the Gryffindor table, right up until she slipped her skinny arm around Matthew Knight's waist and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

The butterflies in Connor's stomach didn't go away.

"You all right there, Connor?" Joanna Fawley said, sweeping her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she sat down in Jenna's recently vacated seat. Felix Flynn sat across from Joanna and began piling his plate full of toast, scrambled eggs and spaghetti in tomato sauce.

"I love Sunday breakfasts," he exclaimed. "The house-elves put in so much extra effort." He stopped, fork halfway to his mouth, when he realised Joanna was staring at him. "What?"

Somehow, at thirteen years old, Joanna had already mastered a stare that could make someone's insides twist. Connor was rather glad it wasn't directed at him, but then he remembered his insides were already twisted in a tight little not and he didn't think Joanna's death stare could have done much to make it worse.

A piece of egg slipped from Felix's fork and onto the table.

"I saw the Quidditch list in the Common Room before," Joanna said to Connor, releasing Felix from her disapproving stare. "You made the team. _Congratulations_! You'll do wonderfully."

Her enthusiasm made Connor crack a small grin. "Thanks, Jo. I was kinda surprised. I thought Jack Noll was going to get it for sure."

"Nah, this is Jack's last year," Felix said between large mouthfuls of food. "There's not much point in picking someone who's just gonna leave."

"There is if picking him means Gryffindor wins the Cup this year."

"Felix is right," Joanna added as she placed a much more moderated portion of eggs and a single piece of buttered toast on her plate. "I bet Jenna wants to grow you as a player."

"Grow me?" Connor asked.

"Yeah," Felix said, nodding in agreement. "Jenna's a sixth year right?" When Connor nodded, he continued. "She knows that she's only got one more Quidditch season left after this year. She won't want to pick older students because they're just going to leave when she is, so what's the point? She'll want to leave the team in capable hands and that means picking a younger player now and having a hand in training them up."

"I suppose that makes sense," Connor said.

"Of course it does," Joanna said with a wide grin, revealing her slightly crooked lower teeth.

"Oh," Felix snapped his fingers and looked between both Connor and Joanna. "I forgot to ask last night, but have you guys done that Defence homework yet?"

"I have," Joanna said instantly.

"Of course," Felix said with a significant glance at Connor. "How long did it take you?"

"About three hours. I finished it on Wednesday night."

"That's the day we got it!" Felix exclaimed.

"It's better to get it out of the way early then leave it until the last minute," Joanna said.

Felix sighed. "What about you Connor?"

"I haven't started either," Connor said. "With Quidditch try-outs and everything I haven't been thinking about it."

"Good," Felix said happily. "Let's work on it tonight, yeah?"

"Sure," Connor said.

"It shouldn't be _too_ hard," Felix said. "Professor DeWitt only wants six inches of parchment, right?"

Joanna nodded.

"I've eaten sandwiches longer than that."

"You boys are impossible," Joanna said, shaking her head.

"Oi, Connor!" Connor jerked his head around and spotted Aiden Greengrass striding down the table towards him with a wide, friendly grin on his face. He stopped beside Connor and gripped his shoulder. "I just saw the list. Nice going, man."

"Thanks," Connor grinned.

"We'll do some celebrating tonight - get the whole team together. I reckon I might be able to nab some butterbeers from the kitchens."

"Sounds awesome," Connor replied.

"It's tradition," Aiden said. "I'll see you later tonight. You guys are welcome to come too." He added to Joanna and Felix, almost as an after-thought. He was gone before anyone could say another word, taking a seat next to Jenna on the other side of the Great Hall.

"Did you see this one, Connor?" Felix jabbed his fork in Joanna's direction. "As soon as Greengrass comes over, she starts twirling her hair and goes all doe-eyed."

Connor laughed and even Joanna smiled. "He's very good looking," she said, with a dreamy glance in Aiden's direction.

"His sister is fit," Felix said. "Too bad she's a Ravenclaw."

"I was talking to Annalise after Charms the other week," Joanna said, her love-eyes vanishing as she looked away from Aiden. "She's a really lovely girl, you know. She could be the perfect girl for Connor."

Connor choked on his juice.

"Nah, he's got Quidditch to think about now," Felix said. "He can't have any girls distracting him."

"Who can't have girls distracting him?" The seat next Joanna was suddenly filled by Teddy Lupin, whose hair was a striking shade of deep red today, matched well with glittering, gold eyes.

"Connor," Felix said. "He made the Quidditch team."

"Oh, good going," Teddy said, somehow managing to sound like he wasn't congratulating Connor at all.

"Thanks," Connor said as he scooped up another spoonful of fruit salad, managing to sound less than thankful.

Joanna shook her head again.

"Say, have you guys noticed anything ... strange at breakfast this morning?"

"Just you and Connor being idiots," Joanna said sarcastically.

Felix, however, was intrigued. "Strange like what?"

Teddy smiled devilishly. "Just anything strange."

"Nothing's happened so far," Felix said. "What'd you do?"

Teddy shook his head and changed the subject. "Have you done that Defence homework yet?"

"No," Felix said. "Connor and I were going to do it tonight, but I'm thinking we'll go to that Quidditch party instead." He ignored Joanna's sharp glance. "Oh, _relax_, Jo, we'll get it done this afternoon."

"I hope so," Joanna said, "Because—"

She cut off as a loud scream echoed from the Ravenclaw table. Connor whipped his head around and stared as a fifth year girl with raven-black hair stood up and backed away so fast she nearly tripped over. Her head was swelling to nearly three times its usual size, stretching her facial features so wide her entire head looked like it was about to burst. Eventually it grew so large she toppled forward, weighed down by her massive head, and collapsed to the ground.

Teddy started laughing.

At the staff table, Professor Cousland, the Transfiguration professor, all but launched himself over the table and sprinted over to the Ravenclaw table.

"What did you do?" Joanna said hissed at Teddy, who was nearly doubled over with laughter.

Teddy struggled to sit upright as he plunged his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a handful of little green, leafy stems, like one would find on a strawberry.

"Are those...?" Felix asked.

Teddy nodded, eyes bright with amusement. "I couldn't sleep last night, so I went down to the kitchen and put a handful of Swelling Strawberries into the fruit salad mix."

Connor looked down at his fruit bowl and hastily pushed it away. Swelling Strawberries were another joke-product from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. When someone ate the red strawberry their head swelled up to nearly four times its usual size. All you had to do to deflate it was eat the bright green strawberry stems, which Teddy was now replacing in his pocket.

"How many did you put in?" Felix asked.

"Only five. The house-elves didn't even notice."

Professor Cousland had managed to get the Ravenclaw girl to her feet and was directing two of her friends to help her get to the Hospital Wing.

"How would you feel if you caused permanent damage with that prank, Teddy," Joanna said disapprovingly.

"She'll be fine," Teddy said dismissively. "Pomfrey can shrink a head back to normal in her sleep. Besides, Weasley products never cause any permanent damage."

Felix helped himself to another serving of eggs and toast. "I think I'll stick around for a little while longer," he said.

When breakfast finished an hour later, three more students' heads had swollen so large they had to follow the Ravenclaw girl to the Hospital wing. Teddy had tears running down his cheeks when he saw Lance Avery's head swell so large he quickly lost his balance and toppled face-first into his plate of food.

"I reckon he got a double helping," Teddy said in between gasps of laughter. Even Joanna had a small smile on her face, while Felix and Connor were laughing openly. They weren't the only ones either, not by a long shot. The other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were ordered by Professor Longbottom to leave after laughing so uproarously at one of the Slytherin beaters who had fallen into a sharp-nosed chaser's lap.

"Don't forget about your homework!" Joanna reminded them later as they left the Great Hall.

"You can be a real buzzkill, you know that, Jo?" Connor said, still grinning broadly.

* * *

\- Behind the Crying Tree -

* * *

As October stretched on and the autumn chill fell over the castle, Connor watched Jenna's face become more troubled as he flew around the Quidditch pitch on an old Hogwarts cleansweep.

After one particularly miserable practise (Jenna bullied them all into doing a gruelling circuit exercise that involved _running_ around the pitch several times and dozens of push ups before she even let them on their brooms), Connor was walking back to the castle covered in mud and sweat, chatting with fellow chaser, fifth year Aiden Greengrass.

"Don't worry too much about Jen," Aiden said, after Connor expressed his concerns. "She just wants to win the House Cup this year."

"Is that all?" Connor said with a hint of sarcasm.

Aiden grinned. "Oh, she'll push us harder than Professor Cousland for an Outstanding OWL in Transfiguration to get it."

"I just feel like I'm letting you guys down," Connor said, finally voicing the concern that had been eating his insides ever since he made the team.

"Nah, you're not." Aiden shook his head. "That Cleansweep Four you've been using is crap, but you're a decent player – a good flyer too. A good flyer on a crappy broom will beat a shitty flyer on the best broom in the world, every time. Did you notice that in every drill Jen had you nearby our rings?"

"Yeah."

"I'll bet you a butterbeer that's because she wants Matt to pass you the quaffle whenever he saves a goal. All you have to do is dodge the pissed off chasers and pass the quaffle to me or Luce."

"Won't that make me a target for their beaters too?"

"Hopefully," Aiden chuckled. "If they're targeting you then they won't be going after me, will they?" He drew his arm back and mimed tossing an imaginary quaffle through a hoop. At the look on Aiden's face he laughed loudly. "Any quidditch player worth his salt could dodge a bludger on broken broom. You, my friend, are very salty - and those school Cleansweeps are hardly broken."

"What should I be doing for offense?" Connor asked.

Aiden laughed again. "I recommend getting a better broom."

Connor snorted, "What should I be doing _now_?"

"Just keep doing what you've been doing." Aiden shrugged. "And get a good night's sleep tonight. I'll bet you a galleon that Jenna schedules an emergency practise before Halloween."

Connor sighed. "I have Astronomy at midnight tonight."

Aiden laughed.

As they walked up the narrow steps towards the castle, Connor paused and frowned. "Does that sound like someone crying to you?"

Aiden paused for a second. "Yeah it does," he agreed.

At the top of the stairs they emerged into a small garden roughly halfway to the castle. In spring and summer the garden was filled with red and yellow flowers. It was a favourite spot for couples trying to snatch a quiet minute alone. The flowers were mostly brown and dying now. On the far edge of the garden was a massive oak tree which still had most of its leaves. The garden wall stretched around the tree leading towards a hidden spot almost perfectly crafted for a couple who wanted more than a quiet minute alone. Or, as Connor thought as he and Aiden walked around the tree, where a particularly unpleasant third year was failing to comfort a crying boy.

Lance Avery was on one knee, talking quietly to a tiny first year with red, tear-stained cheeks. He looked at Connor and Aiden as they walked around the tree and stood up quickly, brushing fallen leaves from his robes. The first year was wearing the red and gold tie and lion emblem of Gryffindor house. His robes were covered in dead leaves and dirt.

Both Connor and Aiden must have been stunned into silence, because it took more than a few seconds for Aiden to blink and move into action after surveying the scene. "He's from our house," Aiden said as he bent down next to the first year and smiled reassuringly. "What's your name, matey?"

The Gryffindor first year swallowed loudly and said, "Lachlan Trent."

"I'm Aiden Greengrass," Aiden said. "Are you all right, Lachlan? Why are you crying?"

Little Lachlan Trent looked up at Lance and another tear trickled down his cheek.

Connor frowned and pulled his wand out of his pocket. "What's going on, Avery?"

Avery looked even more thin-lipped than usual. He glanced at Connor's wand and his hand twitched by his own wand pocket. "Abney used the Full Body Bind curse and tried to hide him in the leaves back here."

Connor looked at the piles of scattered leaves on the ground and the dead leaves stuck to Lachlan Trent's robes. Lachlan was just small enough to be completely covered.

"Abney Avery?" Aiden asked sharply.

Avery grimaced and nodded slowly.

"Why would he do that," Aiden asked.

Avery scowled.

"They said no one was going to find me," Lachlan snivelled.

Connor felt anger surge and burn brightly. "How _did_ you find him?" he asked Avery.

"I was with Abney when he did it," Avery said simply. "Ewart, Garland and Rosier were there too."

"All pure bloods from Slytherin," Aiden almost spat.

"What were you doing with them?" Connor asked.

Avery shrugged. "Abney's my brother."

"Your brother's a real piece of work," Connor said.

"I'm going to take Lachlan back to Gryffindor Tower," Aiden said as he stood up and helped Lachlan to his feet. He gave a Connor a significant look and nodded at Avery as he guided Lachlan around the huge oak tree towards the castle. "Do you like Quidditch, Lachy?"

Connor could hear Aiden chattering happily about Quidditch and the Gryffindor team non-stop as he led Lachlan into the castle. The tiny first year followed quickly, only just managing to keep up with Aiden's strides.

Avery had not moved. The Hufflepuff was staring at his feet, almost uncomfortably.

"The kid's muggleborn," Avery said, as if that was all the explanation Connor needed. "Abney hates muggleborns."

"You think that makes it okay?" Connor said icily.

"I didn't say that. I just said that Abney hates muggleborns. Mudblood's been his favourite word lately. He knew the kid was a mudblood, so when he saw him walking by himself he pulled out his wand and cursed him." Avery was silent for a long, long moment. "I didn't want to leave him here, so I made some stupid excuse to leave dinner and came to get him."

Connor felt something that felt disturbingly like pity pierce through his anger.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Avery said suddenly. "I'm going."

Connor felt his insides twist. Lance Avery could be an arrogant jerk sometimes, but he hadn't left Lachlan Trent out here for half the night. Who knows how long it would have taken for someone to find him if Avery hadn't come back. It was that knowledge - that little thought that would not go away - that made Connor open his mouth and unwittingly lead him and Teddy Lupin towards detention on November 1st.

"Hey, Lance," Connor said as his conscience screamed at him, demanding to be heard. Avery stopped and turned back around. Connor breathed in and said quickly. "It was Teddy Lupin who put the Swelling Strawberries in the fruit salad at breakfast the other week. I just thought you should know. I'm sorry."

Lance's face was still and the seconds seemed to stretch on for an eternity before he said, "Thanks for telling me."

* * *

\- The Pumpkin that Shook Halloween -

* * *

Connor would be lying if he said he hadn't been looking for Abney Avery in the days leading towards Halloween. Whenever he saw him though, he was always surrounded by his friends, or a staff member was nearby.

Connor's wand hand itched.

When he told Joanna what had happened while waiting to go to Astronomy at midnight, she had been suitably appalled and urged him to tell Professor Longbottom (You have to tell someone, Connor. What would have happened if Lachlan was left out there all night?) Ten minutes later, Aiden appeared at his side and told him to keep it quiet from the teachers (There's no point getting the staff involved, Connor. Abney will get what's coming to him soon enough).

He had to suffer Joanna's disapproving silence right up until they were almost at the top of the Astronomy Tower's spiral staircase, where Lance Avery was hanging Teddy Lupin by his ankle and threatening to throw his belongings over the side of the railing.

All because _he_ had decided to listen to his bloody conscience and tell Avery the truth.

As if he didn't feel bad enough already.

He avoided Teddy for the entire lesson and for the next few days, which was made particularly difficult by their shared dormitory room. If Teddy noticed, he gave no sign.

But Joanna noticed – even if she didn't understand what was going on.

"What's wrong with you?" she finally asked him as they were packing up their Potions gear on Halloween morning.

"Talking to me again, are you?" Connor said with a trace of bitterness. Joanna still hadn't quite forgiven him for refusing to tell Professor Longbottom – or any teacher for that matter - about what happened to Lachlan Trent.

If he hadn't already been feeling so miserable, Joanna's glare might have broken him.

"I'm _worried_ about you, you idiot!" she said, all but slamming her Potions textbook closed. She stormed out of the classroom, leaving Connor's mouth gaping slightly and making him feel even worse. Felix, who had been working with Teddy at the back of the classroom, gave him a confused shrug.

Quidditch practise was his only real release, the only time where he didn't feel guilty about Lachlan Trent or angry at Abney Avery. Their first game had been scheduled for the first week of November and Jenna had used the date as an excuse to somehow drive them even harder. It was paying off too, although not even Jenna's boyfriend Matt was quite willing to admit that to Jenna just yet.

After Connor delivered a speedy pass that somehow managed to curve past Jenna and land perfectly in Aiden's outstretched hand, Jenna declared that it didn't matter so much anymore if Connor used a sub-par broomstick.

"Ravenclaw won't know what hit them," she said gleefully.

Aiden high-fived him as he flew past and so did the other chaser Lucy. Sure, the pass was probably a fluke, but Connor _knew_ he was much better than he had been during his try-out.

Of course, the euphoria vanished whenever Connor walked past that oak tree garden on the way back to the castle.

Halloween bought a different atmosphere to the castle, like it did every year. Cobwebs appeared in most corners and across the ceilings. Occasionally someone would shriek as they saw something scuttle across the webbing. The webs were everywhere on the third floor and they seemed to have a mind of their own. Tendrils of web would stretch out and tangle themselves around unweary ankles or wrists. Aiden Greengrass and Matthew Knight had teamed up with a pair of Ravenclaw fifth years to enchant a giant spider made wholly of webbing to slowly creep towards any unfortunate soul that managed to become caught in the web.

Professor Flitwick made the entire prank vanish after a fourth year Hufflepuff with arachnophobia had a panic attack and had to go to the Hospital Wing.

The webbed spider was far from the worst thing wandering the halls that Halloween either. Someone – not even Aiden or Matt knew who – had enchanted one of Hagrid's carved pumpkins, placing it on top of a skeleton figure dressed in torn, black rogues. The pumpkin carried an enormous blade that looked like a much-oversized kitchen knife made from chipped and scarred iron. The pumpkin executioner – as it had been dubbed by lunch that day – wandered the halls and staircases in no particular pattern or purpose. Whenever it encountered a group of students it would sometimes raise its sword and take wild swipes as it chased them away. Professor DeWitt had taken it upon himself to hunt down the creature, but so far hadn't had much luck finding it.

"I can't wait for the feast," Felix announced happily as soon as their final class for the day finished. "I skipped lunch today to make more room." He patted his flat stomach and grinned.

Connor had missed lunch too, but not because he had been saving room for the feast. After Joanna had stormed off he had lost his appetite.

"What's going on between you and Jo?" Felix asked, catching the look on Connor's face. He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "You two didn't have an _awkward_ moment, did you?"

"No, nothing like that," Connor replied quickly. "She hasn't said anything to you?"

"Oh, she's said lots of things, but not a word about you."

Connor's heart seemed to sink that little bit lower.

"Don't worry about it," Felix said. "You know what Jo's like. She just likes to get her way. She'll forget about whatever it is eventually and it'll be like nothing ever happened."

Connor forced a grin. "Hopefully."

But in his heart of hearts he doubted that.

Felix snapped his fingers as if an idea had just struck him and said, "Actually, do you know what's been going on with Ted lately?"

Connor's nerves jolted. "What do you mean?"

"He's been quiet lately," Felix said. "Usually on Halloween he's transforming into different creatures to scare people. That spider on the third floor would have been right up his alley. I haven't seen him at all today."

"I dunno," Connor said.

Felix shrugged. "Guess not."

They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and gave the password (Skele-Grow). The portrait swung open, revealing a Halloween wonderland inside. Aiden and Matt had managed to create another web-spider, but instead of chasing people it just stared at them from the rooftop. Small pumpkins were charmed to glow without a candle inside, each filled with different sweets both Connor and Felix refused to touch out of sheer suspision. A crate of butterbeer stolen from the kitchens lay in one corner with a note saying that a terrible curse would befall the one who took one before the proper time. Felix and Connor avoided that crate too.

They claimed the seats by the fire, which was already blazing merrily, and talked about whatever topic came to mind. They were discussing the upcoming Quidditch Tournament at Hogwarts when Aiden Greengrass and Matt Knight clambered through the portrait hole carrying a small package wrapped inside Aiden's cloak.

"What have you got there?" Connor called to them.

Aiden winked and replied. "Nothing for you to worry about, Lennox."

They disappeared upstairs to the dormitory, leaving Connor and Felix both confused and very curious. They were debating the best way to break into the fifth year dorm room when Cecelia Dearborn came through the portrait hole and made a weary beeline straight for them.

"Hi," she said as she slumped into the third arm chair and stifled a yawn.

"You look drained," Felix pointed out.

"I feel drained," Cecelia replied. "I've been in the library since lunch time working on an Arithmancy essay. It's due in a couple of days."

"How's it going?" Felix said.

Cecelia groaned. "Not very well."

"I know how to help you with that," Connor said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Drop Arithmancy and come join Care of Magical Creatures with me and Felix."

Cecelia laughed. "Thanks, but I think I'll stick with my nice, safe, clean Arithmancy books. Didn't you guys have to pull a Flesh-Eating slug off of Shawn Carver the other week?"

"Yeah, but it was kind of tempting to leave it on," Connor said.

"You have no idea how tempting," Felix agreed.

Cecelia laughed again. "You know, I heard that there was a bit of a commotion at lunch today."

"More swollen heads?"

"I heard it had something to do with snakes. If you two were there you could have put your Care of Magical Creatures training to good use."

"That sounds disgusting," Felix shuddered. "I hate snakes."

Cecelia nodded in agreement. "I'm glad I wasn't there."

"Did you get a look at any of the Halloween decorations?" Felix asked, and then quickly added with a look at Aiden and Matt's web spider. "The official ones?"

"Nah, they hadn't started yet. I did see Hagrid carrying up that massive pumpkin of his to the castle, though."

"He's been going on about that pumpkin all month," Connor said. At the start of every Care of Magical Creatures class, Hagrid would talk happily about the perfect pumpkins he was growing. "I wonder if he'll cry when he carves it."

"He might shed a tear, yeah," Felix agreed.

"Don't be mean," Cecelia folded her arms. "Hagrid is really nice!"

"Yeah, that's true," Felix agreed. "You know Teddy goes has tea with him every now and then?" Connor and Cecelia both shook their heads. Felix straightened in his armchair and continued. "I went with him once. Hagrid tells loads of stories about the Wizarding Wars. Did you know he was part of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Yeah I heard that," Connor said. "Binns mentioned it in History of Magic last year."

"Did he?" Felix said. "I probably wasn't listening."

"One of the muggleborn students asked him about the Second Wizarding War," Connor said. "I don't remember who, but Binns talked about it for ten minutes or so before going back on topic."

"I have no memory of that," Felix said.

"I think some of the teachers forget that Muggleborn students don't know anything about magic until they get their letter," Connor said. "First year was a blur."

"There haven't been too many muggleborn students around," Felix said. "There are – what – five or six in our year?"

"Four," Connor said.

"Do you remember Professor DeWitt talking about You Know Who's reign back in September?" Cecelia said. "He said that You Know Who had the lists of Muggleborn Wizards and Witches destroyed because he believed they had no place in the Wizarding World. The Ministry has been searching for those kids since then, but they only find maybe half of them."

"How did they find you again, Connor?" Felix asked.

"Mum started dating this guy who was a real git," Connor said. "One night I accidentally set his car on fire. The next day, Professor Cousland showed up at my house with my Hogwarts letter."

"You need to work on telling that story, mate," Felix laughed. "What happened to your mum's boyfriend?"

"Dunno, never saw him again. I think the Ministry wiped his memory."

"How did you mum feel about that?" Cecelia was smiling widely.

"I think she was okay with it," Connor shrugged.

Then, almost simultaneously, Connor and Felix's stomach's rumbled. Loudly.

"I cannot wait for dinner," Felix said happily as Cecelia giggled into her hand.

* * *

When they finally followed the stream of Gryffindors down from the tower towards the Feast, they found the Entrance Hall decorated like a Halloween wonderland. Swarms of bats flew across the ceiling, sometimes swooping on unsuspecting students. A great wooden platform had been erected by the staircase, carefully roped off to stop any wandering student from climbing up. A working guillotine was operated by the Pumpkin Executioner, who loaded pumpkin heads into the guillotine and laughed madly as some of the younger students (and the occasional older one) gasped as he jerked on the rope and sent the blade crashing down through the middle of the pumpkin. A number of the ghosts had taken a morbid interest in the guillotine too. Headless Emeric loudly told anyone that would listen that he had been killed by one of these splendid inventions.

Cobwebs draped the ceiling and skeletons hung by their necks from the banisters. At the base of the wooden platform was a garden of large pumpkins, each carved lovingly by Hagrid into different faces and creatures. The largest pumpkin was almost as tall as Connor and had been carved into a dragon's head. It was the largest he had ever managed to grow. All of his other pumpkin sculptures had been practice for this one massive pumpkin. Magical flames burst out of the dragon's mouth, illuminating the pumpkin executioner as he slaughtered the smaller, rotting pumpkins.

"This is so much better than last year," Connor said to Cecelia as they lined up behind a group of Gryffindor second years outside the Great Hall.

Cecelia nodded in agreement. She was staring at the Pumpkin Executioner with wider than normal eyes. And that was saying something.

The Great Hall doors opened slowly, illuminated by a glowing light from hundreds of torches and candles. Compared to the darkness of the Entrance Hall, the Great Hall seemed to be a refuge of light and warmth. Some of Hagrid's giant pumpkins lay carved in the corners of the hall, each illuminated with magical light.

"Go on, carefully now," A Hufflepuff prefect said loudly over the constant chatter.

Connor sat next to Felix halfway up the Gryffindor table. Cecelia sat opposite him, smiling widely. Her eyes weren't _that_ big, Connor had never quite understood what Teddy went on about with Cecelia and her eyes. Joanna sat next to Cecelia and pointedly refused to even look in Connor's direction. Connor was instantly reminded of what the Halloween decorations had managed to help him forget for a little while.

When everyone was seated and talking amongst themselves, Headmaster Lancaster stood up from his place at the centre of the staff table and held up his right hand. The Hall was instantly quiet.

"I'm sure some of you know the reason we dress this way at Halloween," Professor Lancaster said. He gestured at his bright green robes and green goblin mask perched on the top of his head.

"So we can scare the crap out of muggles," Felix whispered in Connor's ear.

"Or offend every goblin in Gringotts," Conner whispered back.

"Halloween began as a way for men to laugh at evil – to make fun of monsters in order to lessen their power over us," Lancaster said. "Even the muggles celebrate this to some degree. In our revelry it is easy to forget that there is great evil in this world who is happy for us – in our revelry – to forget he exists."

Lancaster continued after a short pause. "Most of you are too young to remember, but it is important that we never forget. Evil walked these halls not so many years ago. Not for the first time, but hopefully for the last."

Absolute silence fell over the Great Hall as Headmaster Lancaster spoke. Really. Connor could have heard a pin drop.

"There was so much fear, more than I hope any of you will ever experience. Always remember that fear can only haunt you if you have reason to be afraid. We wear these masks and dress up in costumes to make light of these creatures that slink in the shadows and hide from the light. If we find humour and laughter and light in our lives, then, much like a boggart hiding in a closet, fear's power over our lives will be shattered.

"So remember, young witches and wizards, when you lie in bed tonight that fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. It is not always as simple as a boggart in our closets. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realise that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones. Our mouths can taste sweetness and rejoice.

"Above all, we must never forget." Lancaster's hard eyes surveyed the Great Hall, someone managing to look at every student and convince them that his words were just for them. "And on that note, tuck in."

As soon as Professor Lancaster finished speaking, he spread his arms and platters full of magnificent food magically appeared on the tables. The Great Hall was instantly filled with the sweet aroma of tender meats and roasted vegetables.

"That was different," Felix said as he helped himself to sliced pieces of roasted chicken.

Connor nodded in agreement and reached for the plate of roast lamb.

Cecelia Dearborn leaned forward, looking confused. "I don't really understand."

"He was telling us to not let our fears rule our lives, but to always remember that it's there." Joanna said. Connor met her eyes for a brief second before she quickly looked away.

"Is that right?" Felix said. "He was talking about the Battle of Hogwarts at the start, wasn't he?"

Joanna nodded.

"Teddy's parents died in the battle, you know," Felix continued.

"Really?" Cecelia's eyes seemed to envelop her face.

"Mm-hmm, he never really talks about them." Felix poured gravy over his filled plate. "You're from a Wizarding family, Cecelia. You should know about them, surely."

"I didn't know his parents died in the battle," Cecelia replied. "Who does he live with?"

"With his grandmother, I think."

"Oh." Cecelia retreated thoughtfully, her brow furrowed.

"Where is Teddy?" Joanna asked. "He's not here, is he?"

"We haven't seen him all day," Felix said.

"Do you think he's okay?"

Felix thought for a moment. "Yeah, I'm sure he's fine."

* * *

An hour and a half and an over-filled stomach later, Connor leaned back on the bench and smiled contentedly. The prefects were standing up and began directing the younger students away from the tables and out of the Hall. Some of the older students had already left to go back to their dorms – or other secret places around the castle.

Felix sighed happily and stood up. "The walk back to Gryffindor Tower is going to kill me," he said. "I haven't eaten that much in ages."

Connor agreed. It had been too hard to resist having seconds and later thirds.

They weren't the only ones getting up to follow the crowd of out of the Great Hall. They moved along at the back of the line in silence and were almost at the door before Felix felt through his pockets and slapped his head.

"Damn, I left my wand back at the table. Wait up for me outside, yeah?" He was gone before Connor could reply, pushing though the crowds to get back to the Gryffindor table.

Connor let the natural movement of the mob carry him through the great double doors and into the Entrance Hall. He found a spot by the wooden platform and the pumpkin executioner and settled there to wait.

But then Connor heard the voice he had been listening for ever since he had found Lance Avery talking with little Lachlan Trent. He glanced around and saw the slippery Slytherin fifth year surrounded by a small gathering of Slytherins (and the odd member of other Houses) next to the entrance to the dungeons.

"You should have seen how scared this mudblood was!" Abney all but shouted as he laughed with his friends. "Before he could even cry I hit him with the body-bind curse. He fell over, stiff as anything, so I levitated him out to that garden with the oak tree and buried him under all the fallen leaves there. If it weren't for all the stones I would have buried him in the ground." He laughed even louder.

One of the Slytherin's said something Connor couldn't hear, but Abney just rolled his eyes and said. "I saw him walking around the next day too. Someone must have found him. It's a shame. You know what they say: 'The best kind of mudblood is a dead mudblood'."

Connor stopped thinking clearly, he was so angry he would later swear his vision had turned red. He pulled out his wand pointed it at Hagrid's giant pumpkin - the pride of his garden. He swished the wand upwards and lifted the pumpkin from its stand, and then he flicked his wand towards Abney like he was cracking a whip. The pumpkin shot forward, as fast as a blur, and hit Abney squarely in the face. The pumpkin shattered, spraying Abney's audience with pieces of mushy pumpkin.

Abney collapsed to the ground, blood spraying from both nostrils. For a moment, everyone in the Entrance Hall was silent in shock and then Connor imagined the giant pumpkin, with its carved dragon head and enchanted fire, smashing into Abney Avery's face in slow motion.

And Connor laughed.

The weight on his shoulders had suddenly lifted. All it had taken was a pumpkin to Abney's face.

"You little shit!" Derek Garland, one of Abney's Slytherin friends, shouted as he pulled out his wand and disarmed Connor with a slash of red light. He waved his wand again and invisible ropes wrapped themselves around Connor's wrists and yanked him upwards.

The Entrance Hall suddenly exploded into motion. The rest of the pumpkin covered Slytherins all drew their wands and pointed them at Connor. Abney let out a pained groan and tried to climb to his feet, but his eyes rolled backwards and he fell heavily back to the ground.

"I'm going to tear you apart, Mudblood," Garland spat as he pointed his wand at Connor's forehead.

Jenna O'Connor appeared, pushing her way to the front of the crowd and waving her wand in a wide arc. The ropes around Connor's arms vanished and he fell heavily to the ground. Garland's spell whistled harmlessly overhead, striking one of the hanging pumpkins and making it explode in a burst of orange light. Aiden Greengrass and Matthew Knight flanked Jenna on either side, wands ready; both looking more serious than Connor had ever seen them. Felix stepped in front of Connor, ready to take any other spell a Slytherin tried to throw at him. To Connor's surprise even Joanna stepped forward, face pale, but determined. Someone summoned Connor's wand and pressed it into his hand.

"Get out of the way," Garland snarled at Jenna.

"You're not getting your hands on him," Jenna replied, quietly determined.

"Look at what he did to Abney," Garland shouted, turning and pointing at Abney, who was clutching his broken nose and groaning.

Jenna's lips curled. "He looks better now than he usually does."

Connor didn't think Garland's face could get any angrier, but somehow it did. Flushing red with rage, he drew back his wand and opened his mouth to begin an incantation.

A white ball of light suddenly flashed and echoed around the Entrance Hall with an almighty crack. "_Stop this madness_!" a magically enhanced voice boomed, causing most of the students in the hall to clutch their ears. When the light cleared, Headmaster Lancaster was standing between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. His usually calm features had disappeared under a veneer of anger and disappointement.

There was a sudden flurry to make wands vanish back into pockets.

Professor Longbottom and Professor Cousland appeared at the Headmaster's side; both faces seemed to be carved from stone. Several more teachers were standing at the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Who started this?" Professor Lancaster said quietly, although every ear seemed to hear him.

There was a long silence, only broken by shuffling feet and Abney Avery's moans. Connor pushed himself to his feet. One of his ankles twitched painfully. "I did, Professor," Connor raised his hand and pushed past Felix and Matt so that Lancaster could see him. Derek Garland glared at him murderously.

"There has been bad blood between Gryffindor and Slytherin for centuries and it is only recently starting to mend," Lancaster was looking at Connor, but seemed to be speaking to everyone in the room. "I _will not_ have our progress undone because of a child's stupidity."

Connor nodded, feeling suitably shamed.

"I believe he is one of yours, Professor Longbottom," Lancaster said.

"But he..." Garland protested and pointed at Abney. "Look at—"

"He is Professor Longbottom's to deal with, not yours, Mr Garland!" Headmaster Lancaster said fiercely. "Why don't you busy concern yourselves with taking your friend to the Hospital Wing? I believe he has a nose in desperate need of repair."

Derek looked like he was going to argue further, but Lancaster's eyes flashed and he backed away to help pull a still-dizzy Abney to his feet.

Professor Longbottom appeared in front of Connor and took him by the shoulder.

"Come with me, Connor." There was no sign of friendliness in Professor Longbottom's eyes.

The pumpkin executioner cackled as he sliced another pumpkin in two.

* * *

When Connor climbed through the portrait hole later that night he was all but pulled though by several pairs of hands.

"Holy shit, Connor," Felix shouted in his ear over the music. "They'll be talking about that pumpkin for _years_!"

He was pulled away from Felix by Aiden Greengrass who was grinning widely. "Someone get the man a butterbeer!" he roared into the crowd of Gryffindors before turning to Connor.

"What you did to Abney was way better than anything I'd come up with," Aiden said over the noise. "I'm never going to forget the look on that prick's face as that pumpkin went straight for his head. If anyone deserved to be knocked out by a giant pumpkin, it was him."

"Professor Longbottom didn't ban you from Quidditch, did he?" Jenna grabbed his robed by the collar with a wild look in her eyes. She wouldn't let go until he shook his head vehemently. "Good!" she said, visibly calmer. "I haven't spent all this time training you for you to ruin it all with a bloody pumpkin."

Someone shoved an ice-cold butterbeer into his hand and clapped him heavily on the back.

Then Connor spotted the person he really wanted to talk to. Joanna was sitting on the steps leading up to the girls' dormitories watching the partying Gryffindors with a small smile on her face. When she noticed Connor making his way towards her, the smile quickly disappeared.

Connor sat on the step next to her and offered her the butterbeer. "I'm sorry for being such a moody prick, Jo," Connor said. "I've had a lot on my mind and I didn't really know what to do to make it go away."

"I heard what Abney was saying in the Entrance Hall," Joanna said.

"He's a dickhead," Connor said.

"I know, but you probably shouldn't have done what you did – even if did made you Gryffindor's mighty hero."

"Maybe not, but it felt good." Silence fell between them for a moment as they watched the other Gryffindors laugh and dance. Aiden had pulled the web spider down from the roof and was wearing it on his head like a cowl.

"I told Professor Longbottom everything," Connor said, "About what Abney Avery did to Lachlan Trent."

"You didn't have much of a choice." Joanna snorted and took a sip of butterbeer. "Do you feel better now?" she added as she handed the bottle back to Connor.

Connor grinned and took a long drink. "A bit - a lot."

Joanna's lips quirked. "Because you finally told a teacher, or because you launched Hagrid's prized pumpkin into Abney's head?"

"Both," Connor said. Joanna laughed.

"So what did Professor Longbottom give you?" Joanna said, suddenly concerned. "You're not being expelled are you?"

Connor shook his head. "I lost Gryffindor fifty points and I have a week's worth of detentions starting tomorrow. And I think they're going to send a letter home to Mum."

"You should feel lucky he didn't kick you off the Quidditch team."

Connor laughed. "I think Jenna would hex him if he tried to get rid of me."

"Well you won't be alone in detention tomorrow," Joanna said lightly.

"Huh?"

"Teddy's on detention too."

"Lupin? Why? What did he do?"

* * *

\- Treddy Lupin -

\- Earlier that Day -

* * *

Teddy loved it when a plan began to come together.

He stood in front of a giant painting of a bowl of fruit, carrying a small backpack over his shoulder. Why anyone would want to paint a bowl of fruit, Teddy could never guess. Not for the first time he resolved to ask Victoire when went back to Gryffindor Tower. She was into art and would most likely know the answer. Maybe he would even see her at lunch.

He suppressed a chuckle. Maybe not.

He reached out a hand and tickled the pear, watching as it squirmed and wriggled and laughed before transforming into a bright green door knob.

Teddy closed his eyes and willed himself to change. It was easier than breathing to change his hair colour, but it took a bit more effort to change his physical shape. He felt his body shrink and become unfamiliar. His head widened and his ears became large and pointy. When he opened his eyes, he was tiny – half the size he was normally.

He took one wobbly step forward (It always took a while to get used to a new form) and dropped the knapsack to the ground. His fingernails were long and hooked and made unzipping the bag a trial in itself, but he quickly pulled the bag open and pulled out a Hogwarts House-Elf uniform he had "acquired" back in first year. He quickly shrugged out of his oversized Hogwarts robes and changed into the little uniform. He became Treddy, imaged after the little house-elves who looked after his Godfather's house.

The kitchen house-elves knew Treddy and most paused to wave at him as they hurried about the long tables in the kitchen. They never asked him why he barely ever came to the kitchens, or why he never did any work.

Most of the food for lunch was already in position. Pots of different soups and trenchers of bread lay in even intervals across the tables' surface. Lunch before a feast was usually a very simple affair to give the house-elves more time to prepare dinner.

Treddy waddled over towards the Hufflepuff table and hopped up on one of the small stepladders the elves used to get on the table. He walked along the table to the place where Lance Avery usually sat with his friends and peered into the closest pot of chicken-noodle soup. It smelt delicious and Treddy almost felt bad.

Almost.

The bruises on his arms hadn't quite healed yet.

Treddy reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of circular pellets.

He dumped the pellets into the pot of soup and stood back.

Just to be safe he dropped a handful of pellets into the pots of soup on either side too.

Treddy hopped off the table and waddled back out of the kitchen, but not before snagging a bottle of butterbeer from the crate inside one of the giant pantries.

He had to remember to pull off the little house-elf uniform before he transformed back to normal. While transforming into something else was an effort, going back to normal was like watching a stretched rubber band flick back to normal. It felt good to be back to his normal height and build.

Quickly redressing, he stuffed the house-elf uniform back into his knapsack and slung it over one shoulder. He leisurely strolled up the stairs to the Entrance Hall, sipping on the butterbeer as he walked.

There was already a buzz of conversation taking place in the Great Hall. The house-elves had sent the soups and bread to the tables in the Great Hall in the time it had taken Teddy to arrive.

Teddy was almost shaking in anticipation.

He stood to the side and smiled brightly at a group of Ravenclaws walking into the Great Hall. They eyed him suspiciously, but didn't stop to talk to him. Word had somehow spread rather quickly that he was the one responsible for those Swelling Strawberries a few weeks ago. He had chosen not to think about _that_ too much lately. He was sure that one of those Ravenclaws had been a victim of that particular prank.

_I'll give it another minute or two_, Teddy thought as he shoved his foot against the door to hold it open a crack. The waiting was almost unbearable and Teddy was forced to drain every drop of his limited amount of patience.

After looking over his shoulder to check that the Entrance Hall was clear once again, Teddy peered through the crack in the Great Hall doorways and spotted Lance Avery sitting at his customary seat at the Hufflepuff table next to Laura Dickey and some other Hufflepuff whose name Teddy didn't remember. Avery was tucking into his bowl of chicken-noodle soup with relish.

Teddy could have cackled.

He pulled out his wand and carefully pointed it at Avery. He had to use two hands to steady it. He couldn't afford to miss.

"_Actvientum_," he whispered. And waited.

For a moment Teddy thought the incantation hadn't worked, but then he saw Avery's face grow pale and his cheeks puff out like he was desperately trying to swallow something back down.  
But he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

Avery lurched forward and vomited three green, wiggly snakes into his soup bowl.

Laura Dickey screeched and backed away as Avery heaved again and sprayed a dozen little snakes over her robes and shoes in a desperate attempt to leave the Hufflepuff table. The snakes slithered across the table, and dropped down to the floor. Screams filled the Great Hall as the rest of Hufflepuff's table realised what was happening.

Teddy couldn't hold it in any longer. He bit down hard on his fist as all of his excitement and anticipation erupted into a bout of mirth.

A hand on his shoulder cut Teddy's laughter short.

Professor Cousland's face was indecipherable as he looked from Teddy, to Teddy's wand, to Avery vomiting even more snakes onto the Hufflepuff table.

His ice-blue eyes narrowed. "Stay here," Professor Cousland ordered as he pulled out his wand and marched inside the Great Hall.

There was no point in running now – it would just be worse for him if Professor Cousland came back and found him gone. In hindsight he never should have stuck around to watch.

Teddy grinned.

But it was totally worth it.

* * *

\- As Iron Sharpens Iron -

or

\- A Polished Portrait Frame -

* * *

Sir William the Scarred's portrait was ordering them to be silent as the pair doubled over with laughter – cleaning rags and polishes forgotten. "This is most dishonourable behaviour!" he said sternly, but was barely given a second glance.

"I heard that Lance Avery had to spend last night in the Hospital Wing," Connor said with a grin.

Teddy used his shirt collar to wipe a tear away from his cheek. "I know. I've never see anyone look so pale before."

"What was the jinx you used?"

"I didn't use one," Teddy said. "I transformed into a house-elf and put a hundred or so Slytherin Snake Eggs into the Hufflepuff soups just before lunch. You should have seen Avery. He was chowing down without a care in the world before I activated the eggs."

"How did you know which soups to put them in?"

Teddy shrugged. "Educated guesswork."

"I bet Madam Pomfey's never had to deal with snakes crawling around in someone's stomach before," Connor laughed.

"Avery's always wanted to be in Slytherin. I was just helping him out."

The pair laughed again as William the Scarred drew himself up and launched into another tirade.

"I'm never going to forget the way he threw up all over Laura Dickey's robes," Teddy said.

"Poor girl." Connor wiped a tear away from his eyes too. "But she really shouldn't have been sitting next to such a prat."

Connor dropped his rag back into its bucket and faced Teddy awkwardly. "I was the one who told Avery about the Swelling Strawberries the other week. I didn't know he was going to attack you in the Astronomy Tower. I'm sorry."

If Teddy cared, he gave no visible sign. "Don't worry about it, Connor. I would never have seen Avery vomit up those snakes if you hadn't. It was worth a few bruises and a week's worth of detentions."

"You knew it was me who told?"

"I thought it might have been you or Joanna," Teddy said. "You two are both friends with Avery."

"Joanna is, but I'm not really." Connor shook his head. "I didn't mind him, but then he just stood by and watched his brother terrorise and threaten to bury a first year muggleborn."

"Speaking of Abney," Teddy said, "everyone's talking about how you smashed Hagrid's prized pumpkin into his head."

Connor grinned. "He had to go to the Hospital Wing to have his nose set and grow some of his teeth back."

"He'll be after your blood now," Teddy said.

"Probably," Connor shrugged. "He's welcome to try."

"I've never been able to get that Charm to work properly," Teddy said. "I can't get enough power behind it."

"You need to flick your wand really hard at the end of the incantation, like you're cracking a whip."

And so as Connor Lennox and Teddy Lupin talked and laughed, they became friends. They were both covered in sweat and polish by the time they had finished the final portrait on the fourth floor three hours later. Sir William the Scarred had not been satisfied until his portrait frame gleamed without a speck of dust or fingerprint on it. He had roared in fury when Teddy touched the frame to see if he had noticed.

Professor Longbottom heard the two talking, but decided to let it slide this time. He had hoped this would happen when he put the pair on detention together. He hoped it would go a long way towards repairing the mutual dislike that had plagued Teddy Lupin and Connor Lennox since early in their first year.

As he listened to Connor and Teddy laugh, he smiled and walked back to his office, heart swelling with pride and self-satisfaction.

Professor Longbottom would eventually come to regret putting Teddy Lupin and Connor Lennox together on detention that night.

* * *

A/N: Wow that took me longer to write than I thought it would. I wanted to go through all the events that led towards the two becoming friends in detention. The chapter seemed to grow as I added more detail and different characters to the fold.

Reviews are like a cold glass of something after being outside on a hot day (It has been seriously hot here lately).

Peace out.


	3. Chapter 2: Remember, Remember

**Chapter Two**

\- Remember, Remember -

* * *

Every now and then, God sees and man and a woman (or a boy and a girl) and lets them know – in a range of increasingly UN-subtle ways – that they are meant to be together. Call it star-crossed lovers, soul mates - whatever you wish, the fact remains: some people are meant to be together. After all, man is not meant to be alone.

When Teddy walked into the Great Hall at lunchtime on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011, and sat down next to silvery-haired Victoire Weasley, he had no idea that she would grow to be the woman he was destined to be with.

That's right. _Destined._

Destined is a big word, and at thirteen years old, Teddy had no concept about what that word meant. He took Divination, and had even written down the definition, but he had taken Divination as a bludge class with Felix (and he was confident that picking it would force Connor Lennox to change from Divination to another class. He hadn't been able to make him move from Care of Magical Creatures, but . . . small victories), and so far, Professor Trelawney had done very little to convince him that Divination was little more than a farce.

On September 1st, 2017, Teddy would hold Victoire's hands in his, and lean in for a kiss. It wasn't their first kiss – for they had had many before that, but it was probably their most significant, and not because James Sirius Potter was spying on them from a distance.

At thirteen, Teddy had no concept about what love was either, but he would learn.

At eleven, Victoire didn't know much about love either, but she still knew more than Teddy.

* * *

\- Connor's Report on October 31 -

\- After the Pumpkin -

* * *

Professor Longbottom was always friendly and quick to smile, but when he placed a quill, ink, and parchment in front of Connor and told him to write down every detail of that afternoon/evening he could remember, Connor had never seen his Head of House more serious.

And that was including the time Shaun Carver had nudged Felix Flynn into the Venomous Tentacular's loving arms once in first year.

So, in his messy scrawl, Connor wrote down that Lance Avery had told him that Abney Avery had used the Full-Body Bind curse on first year Lachlan Trent and tried to bury him under the mound of autumn leaves behind the tree. He even added that he didn't think anyone would have found Lachlan Trent for a long time if Lance hadn't come back to undo the curse.

"Is there anything else you want to add to this?" Professor Longbottom asked as he scanned Connor's account.

"No, sir," replied Connor. He was _pretty sure_ he remembered everything.

"Okay, then." Professor Longbottom placed the parchment on his desk. "Thank you for being honest with me, Mr Lennox."

Connor stirred and asked the question that had been on his tongue since Professor Longbottom had led him into his office. "Sir, what's my punishment going to be?"

"I think one hundred and fifty points from Gryffindor and a week's worth of detentions will suffice," Professor Longbottom said. "A letter will also be sent home to your mother."

Connor breath caught in his throat. He could handle a week's worth of detentions, and even though losing those points for Gryffindor made his heart twist guiltily, he would rather lose another hundred points than have a letter sent home to his mother. "Please don't send a letter home," Connor said, voice sounding more than a touch desperate.

Professor Longbottom raised his eyebrows.

"My mum worries," Connor explained quickly, though that barely began to cover it.

"Then your mother will have to worry," Professor Longbottom said. His rough, salt-and-pepper beard made him look sterner than ever. "What you did tonight was very serious, Connor. Gryffindor and Slytherin have had enough problems without you trying to instigate another feud."

Connor tried to sink even lower into the plush, grey-green armchair in front of Professor Longbottom's desk. The thought of his mother reading the letter from Hogwarts made his heart wrench guiltily.

Longbottom looked away from Connor's self-inflicted misery and touched the tip of his wand to Connor's report. The parchment hovered in the air, folding itself over and over until it resembled a paper owl. "To Professor Lancaster's office," Professor Longbottom ordered. The paper owl spun around and sped out of the office, even flattening itself to slide through the crack beneath the door and floor.

"You can go," Professor Longbottom told Connor with a slight, crooked smile. "If you think of anything else, come and see me in the morning. In the meantime, I suggest you get some sleep – if your House-mates will let you, that is."

Connor nodded gratefully, though he still felt very guilty and pushed himself out of the plump armchair. He had his hand on the doorknob when another thought occurred to him. He gave it voice. "Professor?"

"Hmm?" Professor Longbottom arched a bushy eyebrow.

"I'm not going to be banned from Quidditch, am I?"

Professor Longbottom snorted and shook his head.

* * *

\- The Suspicions of Felix Flynn in Regards to the Newfound Friendship of Teddy Lupin and Connor Lennox -

* * *

The third year dormitory bedroom had always been quiet. It had the reputation of being the quietest dormitory in the entire Gryffindor house – which was quite odd, considering it housed three thirteen year old boys, none of whom had a reputation of being quiet (well, maybe Connor did, but that would soon change). The reason for the uncomfortable silence had not changed since September 1st, 2009, when the Sorting Hat decided to put two boys who had quarrelled that afternoon in the same House.

But that all changed on the first day of November. And as we already established, all it took was a joke in detention, a flying pumpkin, and Lance Avery.

The Sorting Hat, in all its magical wisdom, had only Sorted three boys into Gryffindor house during the 2009-2010 school year.

All three boys sometimes had more courage than sense.

All three boys had an unhealthy aptitude for mischief.

But two of those boys were stuck in a spiral of awkward dislike, which made the third just feel . . . _awkward_.

The wireless was playing Felix's favourite song when Felix came back from the bathroom, towel wrapped around his narrow waist and shaggy hair still damp from the shower. He didn't have a chance to enjoy the foot-stomping song from _Amortentia_, because the sound of conversation made his ears perk up in confusion.

He froze, and water dripped onto the faded rug.

Connor and Teddy were back from their detention and were lounging on their beds, talking loudly.

Talking.

They were talking.

_What?_

The room smelt strongly of foul smelling oil, as neither boy had gone for a shower yet, but Felix hardly noticed the smell.

"So, you're a metamorphmagus," Connor asked Teddy.

"Just like me mam," Teddy replied.

"And you can turn into anything you want?"

"Mostly, yeah."

"What does 'mostly' mean?"

"More often than not," Teddy provided helpfully.

"Git," Connor said.

Felix braced himself as the word "git" reverberated across the room, bouncing off of walls and the floors until it just hung in the air.

Teddy laughed.

Felix may as well have been stunned in the face by a twenty inch wand.

"I suppose I can change into whatever I want," Teddy admitted. "Making myself look like other people is much easier than making myself look like an animal." He squeezed his eyes shut and suddenly Joanna's pretty blonde head appeared, which looked quite funny on top of Teddy's body. Connor's laugh sounded like he was slowly choking to death.

Joanna's face grinned a remarkably accurate Joanna smile, and Teddy's head popped back. His hair and eyebrows stayed as Joanna's honey-coloured locks. "Human-like shapes are easier than animals, because they kind of move the same as we do. Giants have a slow, heavy walk. . ." Teddy leapt out of bed and stopped around the dormitory, taking high-kneed, slow steps, while swinging his arms excessively far. When he reached Connor he spun on the spot and said: "And house-elves have this small little waddle when they walk around." He imitated a house-elf waddle, before diving onto his bed, laughing loudly.

"If you turned into a full-animal..." Connor began.

"I'd have to learn the way they moved and practise until it feels natural – but then it feels weird moving like a human again. It's much easier to just change parts of myself." Teddy raised his hand and each finger stretched and curled until his entire hand resembled an elongated claw.

Connor laughed. "That's so cool."

"You should become an Animagus, Connor. If we worked together, I don't reckon it would be too hard. You could become a loveable little puppy that all the girls find irresistible. Then I could swoop in and. . ." Teddy finally spotted Felix in the doorway, who was still holding onto his towel in shock. "What are you doing, Felix?"

Connor looked over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows.

Felix's mouth opened uselessly. He must have banged his head in the shower. He slipped over, knocked himself out and was now stuck in some weird half-dream where Teddy and Connor actually got along. In a few minutes, some unfortunate first year would find him bleeding – forever traumatising the little wizard - and he'd wake up in the Hospital Wing with a headache, and everything would be normal again.

"You're not going to drop your towel, are you?" Connor asked. From his bed, Teddy sniggered.

Felix shook his head and walked towards his bed while still giving Connor and Teddy odd looks. "How was detention?"

"Some portraits have such high opinions of themselves," Teddy said. "You know that huge portrait of William the Scarred on the fourth floor?"

"Umm, yeah, I think so." Felix had vague recollections of portrait in question.

"I think he's a fake," Teddy said it so seriously, Connor burst out laughing.

"I think he's all talk too," Connor said.

"A classic Gilderoy."

"What does that mean?"

"It's what my godfather and his mates say about people who take the credit for other people's work." Teddy shrugged. "I don't know why."

"Isn't having a godfather kind of . . . outdated these days?"

"Maybe in the muggle world," said Teddy. Connor shrugged.

"Maybe it's just my mother." Connor's eyes went back to Felix, who was still staring. "You alright, mate?"

"You look like something terrible happened in the shower," Teddy agreed.

"Did you sleepwalk into the girl's bathroom again? I still have no idea how the stairs let you get all the way up there."

"Did Joanna see your wee wee?" Teddy asked unhelpfully.

Felix flushed, and closed his four-poster's curtains around the bed so he could get changed into his pyjamas.

"Oh, God, did she really?" Teddy exclaimed excitedly.

"No!" Felix shot back. He pulled on his pyjama bottoms and opened the curtains again.

"But you accidentally showered in the girl's?" Teddy asked.

"I didn't shower in the girl's!"

"He said that a bit too fast, wouldn't you say, Connor?"

"It was rather quick. His face is all red too."

"Did you see anything good, Felix?"

"Did _they_ see anything bad?"

"You guys are gits," Felix said.

Teddy and Connor laughed, and retreated back to their beds. "We're just teasing, Felix," Connor assured him.

"But really, you should have been more careful that time in second year."

"It was _one_ time and I was _sleep-walking_!" Felix said defensively.

"People don't forget," Teddy chanted in a sing-song voice.

Felix tossed his wet towel at Teddy's face.

"What actually happened at that detention?" Felix asked, when Teddy had fired the towel back at him and everyone had stopped laughing.

"We had to polish all of the portrait frames on the fourth floor," Connor said. "Without magic."

"There's a fair few of them, isn't there?" Felix said.

"Seventy-four." Connor said the number with such weariness Felix was surprised the entire dormitory didn't break out in yawns.

"We only got through fifty-or-so," Teddy added. "We have to finish the rest tomorrow night."

Felix looked between his two roommates and decided he needed to dig a little deeper. "Uh . . . did anything else happen?" he said.

Connor shook his head. "It was pretty boring."

"And we've got to do it every night 'till Monday," Teddy complained.

"It almost makes me regret smashing Avery's face with that pumpkin," Connor said mournfully.

Teddy sniggered.

Felix was already lying in bed with his curtains drawn when Connor and Teddy returned from the showers. They were respectfully quiet, and it almost seemed like normal. Felix listened to the curtains close around Connor's bed, then Teddy's before the latter said: "G'night, dickheads."

"Night," Connor replied.

_Goodnight?_

_ They never say goodnight._

_ What?_

* * *

\- A bit about Teddy -

\- Some stuff about Connor too -

* * *

Teddy Lupin was tall for his age. He had naturally brown hair, which – a lot like Teddy himself – had a strong dislike of anything resembling cooperation. He was already quite handsome at thirteen, with a narrow face, strong jaw and a straight nose. His skin was good, his teeth were better, and his crooked grin was full of mischief.

Teddy Lupin was in trouble far too often.

He was suspended from wizarding primary for using a candle to light Cecelia Dearborn's ugly red sweater on fire. He had spent most of that recess falling to the ground, making thick dark hair burst from his skin, much to the amusement of the other fledgling witches and wizards in his class. After his fourth fall and spontaneous hair growth Cecelia Dearborn had told him he was being annoying and to stop it (his fourth fall may have been on the bench where Cecelia was sitting with her friends. His fourth fall may have also been on her lap).

Teddy had never taken being told what to do well.

His teacher for that year was a young witch called Miss Lynch. She had an odd obsession with scented candles, which she used magic to float high above her students' reach.

But Teddy wasn't like other students.

When Miss Lynch's back was turned, he extended his arm all the way to the ceiling, grabbed one of the candles and pulled it down. Cecelia's desk was quite close to his, and her ugly sweater was hanging over the back of her chair.

His grandmother had been called into the school for a meeting with the grumpy old primary headmistress, where she was told that Teddy was suspended and had to stay at home for the rest of the week.

Three days away from school hadn't seemed like much of a punishment to Teddy, until old Andromeda told him he wasn't allowed to touch his broom, or do anything that resembled fun. At the end of Andromeda's tirade, Teddy prepared himself for the reveal of his trump card – the card he only used when he was in most-grievous trouble.

He dropped his head, made his cheeks flush red and cried for his poor, dead mum and dad.

Andromeda, bless her soul, was a hard woman and was usually quite firm with Teddy, but when he mentioned his parents and pretended to grieve, all thoughts of disciplining the young boy were whisked away. Teddy still wasn't allowed his broom, but he was allowed to do other, equally fun things.

Sometimes he wondered what his parents would think if they were alive to see the kind of trouble he found himself in. His grandmother had a photo of his parents in the living room. Teddy used to look at it all the time when he was small. His mother's hair was as wild as his, bubble-gum pink and untidy. His father looked much older, with a narrow face covered in scars. They waved at him furiously every time they saw him. Teddy couldn't quite remember when he stopped waving back.

Teddy knew that most kids couldn't get away with the kind of mischief he got away with.

But most other kids still had both their parents.

He was so used to getting his way, (and getting away with everything) it was quite a shock when a skinny little muggleborn with floppy brown hair pulled out a wand (which he didn't know how to hold) and stood up to him on the way to Hogwarts one sunny afternoon on September 1st, 2009.

* * *

Connor Lennox hated bullies.

Most kids who have been bullied hate bullies.

A large boy named Derrick Dunne was Connor's bully in primary school. Derrick Dunne's family was rich, like richer than anyone else at the school – including the teachers. He walked around with his head held high, looking down his nose at everyone. He smiled like he was aware of a great secret no one else at the school knew – including the teachers. Derrick learned quite early that having money meant he could get away with things other kids couldn't. The one time his parents had been called in for a meeting with the principal, they had threatened to stop their generous donations to the school. The school's complaint quickly disappeared and Derrick Dunne walked around with his head a little higher.

Connor Lennox hated Derrick Dunne.

"I heard your dad fucked your mum and ran off," Derrick Dunne crowed one lunchtime after cornering Connor in the toilets. Connor tried to push past him, but Derrick and his friends pushed him into toilet cubicle and blocked the door.

Connor felt like he had been punched in the stomach, though Derrick Dunne had yet to curl a first. No one at school had ever talked about his dad before - his own mother never talked about his dad. Whenever he asked she would always look a bit teary and reply: "I promise we'll talk about your dad when you're older." When Derrick Dunne opened his mouth a spat poison about his father, it was the first time Connor had heard anything about him (it was also the first time Connor remembered hearing the "f" word, but that's irrelevant in the scheme of things).

"Don't talk about my dad," Connor said angrily.

Derrick Dunne boomed with laughter and his friend's chuckled along like some sick symphony. "I heard your mum will spread her legs for anyone," Derrick said, quite pleased with the reaction from the usually passive Connor.

Connor didn't know what Derrick meant by that, but it made him even angrier. He raised his fist, and in one single, shattering motion swung at Derrick's head.

At nine years old Connor was quite small and Derrick was quite large, and both were fast. Derrick ducked under the wild strike and pushed Connor onto the toilet. Suddenly, Derrick was holding him by the back of the neck and ordering his friends to grab Connor's arms. Connor knew what was going to happen. He had heard that Derrick and his buddies had done it to Charlie Piper the other day. Charlie Piper was yet to return to school. No matter how much Connor struggled, he could not break free.

Connor's vision turned scarlet and anger boiled a hole through his stomach.

Derrick Dunne started screaming.

None of the boys were able to articulate what happened to the teachers. How could they? None of them were able to explain how angry red, puss-filled, visibly _throbbing_ boils the size of golf-balls appeared on Derrick's hands and up his arms. When Derrick returned to school for an interview with his parents, he cried fake tears and said that Connor Lennox did it to him.

For the first time in Derrick's life, no one believed him, not even his parents. How could someone make boils magically grow on someone's hands?

Connor didn't know either.

The next time Connor felt that angry was when he was eleven years old and had just seen his mother's boyfriend of exactly three months slap her across the face with the back of his hand. Connor watched from his bedroom window as the man walked back to his car and got inside.

Connor could hear his mum crying downstairs.

When his mother's now ex-boyfriend started the car, Connor curled his fists and jumped in fright when the silver car burst into bright orange flames.

The police chalked it up to some odd engine failure.

The doctor's told Connor's mother's _ex_-boyfriend his burns were only minor.

The firemen had _no_ idea how the fire started.

And soon after, a man dressed in black robes knocked on Connor's front door, handed his mother a heavy letter and told them both that Connor was a wizard.

"Magic isn't real," Miss Lennox said to the man who had introduced himself as Professor Lancaster.

The man called Professor Lancaster pulled out a twelve-inch long stick, pointed it at his tea cup and turned it into a rat. Mrs Lennox, who somewhat despised rats, shrieked.

Two months later, Connor was sitting on the Hogwarts Express talking to a a compartment full of fellow first years when a boy with bright green hair darted past. Everyone in the compartment, including Connor, stood to watch as the boy with green hair flicked his wand at a boy who was in his way. The unfortunate boy was hoisted into the air by his ankle.

_I guess even magic schools have bullies_, Connor thought. He found himself standing, and yelling after the boy with green hair, demanding that he let the other boy down.

"What are you gonna do if I don't?" The boy with green hair sneered.

Connor reached into his pocket and pulled out his own twelve inch wand. He was keenly aware that he didn't know any spells.

The green haired boy looked at Connor's wand and laughed.

What happened next would cement more than two years of intense, exceedingly awkward dislike.

Connor Lennox learned during the Sorting Ceremony that the green-haired boy was named Edward Lupin. The Sorting Hat had barely been on his head for two seconds before it shouted: "GRYFFINDOR." The red and gold table burst into cheers and applause.

Edward Lupin's hair changed to red, with golden highlights to match. Gryffindor house all looked very impressed.

Then, Professor Cousland called Connor's name.

_Any house but the one Lupin is in! _Connor thought to himself when Professor Cousland lowered the dirty, patched, looks-like-it-was-run-over-by-a-car Sorting Hat onto his head. To his shock (though at this point, most things in the Wizarding World still shocked Connor) a voice in his head spoke back.

_You don't wish to be with Edward Lupin, eh?_

_ No, _Connor thought vehemently.

_ You could be a champion for Hufflepuff, _the Sorting Hat told him. _A house often in need of champions. You have a brain in that head of yours. Those in Ravenclaw would find you worthy. You have ambition for Slytherin, but not the blood. No, there is only one place where you truly fit._

Connor knew where he was going before the Sorting Hat cried out: "_GRYFFINDOR!"_

When he went to join the table, everyone was clapping and cheering.

Everyone _except_ Edward Lupin.

* * *

\- More on the Suspicions of Felix Flynn in Regards to the Newfound Friendship of Teddy Lupin and Connor Lennox -

* * *

When Felix woke up the next morning and threw back the curtains on his four-poster, he saw both Teddy and Connor's beds deserted. Connor's blankets were flung aside untidily, while Teddy's had somehow made their way to the floor, like they were prone to every morning. Felix frowned at Connor's bed for what seemed like a full minute. Connor _always_ made his bed. It was one of those infuriatingly obsessive things Felix and Teddy had laughed about behind Connor's back.

Neither of his roommates were in the bathroom when Felix went to shower, and they weren't in the Common Room when Felix came down dressed in his school robes with his book bag slung over one shoulder. The Common Room was deserted, aside from a tall fifth year who was standing in the middle of the circular room, frowning up at the ceiling. Aiden Greengrass had his wand out and was trying to remove his web spider from above the dead fireplace. At the risk of being destroyed, the spider was scurrying across the roof, narrowly avoiding every spell that Aiden cast at it.

"All right there, Felix?" Aiden said as Felix came down the stairs.

"Hullo, Aiden," Felix said. He stopped next to Aiden and looked up at the silky spider. It was slowly making its way back to the mass of webs by the fireplace now that Aiden had stopped casting spells at it. All eight of its abyssal eyes were trained on Aiden. "Do you need any help?"

"Possibly," Aiden flicked his earlobe with the tip of his wand. "This thing refuses to die."

"Didn't Matt help you make it?" Felix asked.

"Yeah, and I'd get him to help me, but he's off with Jenna somewhere." Aiden sighed. "I wish I knew who enchanted it to move around."

"I thought it was you."

Aiden shook his head. "Too much effort with all the legs."

Felix thought for a moment. "Have you tried a Freezing Charm?"

"It won't stay still long enough to be hit by one." Aiden raised his wand and barked, "_Immobulus!__" _Blue light flashed, narrowly missing the spider as it scuttled across the ceiling to safety. It glared at Aiden, poised on the tips of its legs, before slowly creeping to the same spot above the fireplace.

"Why does it keep going back there?" Felix asked.

"No idea." Aiden stared murderously at the spider. "But, it's been spraying web at anyone who gets too close. Watson told me to get rid of it because it won't let the house-elves do their jobs at night."

"Why don't you just ignore him?" Felix disliked Gryffindor's seventh-year prefect (and wannabe Head-Boy) immensely.

"Because Luce told me Longbottom mentioned it in the prefect meeting this morning," Aiden said. "I'd rather not have Longbottom breathing down my neck – not when I want to take his NEWT class next year."

"Oh. Well, do you want some help?"

"That would be great, actually," Aiden said, suddenly enthused. "See if you can get it a bit closer to immobilise it. That chair there ought to do." Aiden pointed at a faded armchair, covered in the spider's sticky webbing.

Felix really should have been a bit more suspicious about Aiden's enthusiasm, as well as his advice to cast the spell by the web-covered chair. But, like most thirteen year olds, Felix wanted to fit in, and Aiden Greengrass was quite cool (Felix thought Aiden's sister was quite hot too, but that's currently besides the point). People will do stupid things to try and get others to like them.

And so, Felix raised his wand, stepped past the webbed armchair and cried "_Immobulus!__"_ A flash of blue light erupted from the tip of Felix's wand and streaked towards the spider.

At the last possible moment, the spider curled its legs and darted out of the way. Felix's charm struck hard stone and vanished in a puff of blue mist.

The spider's eyes glittered as it turned to look Felix.

"Watch out!" Aiden warned as he raised his own wand.

Gouts of grey, silky webbing shot out of its web sac and hit Felix full in the face. Felix coughed and gasped, dropping his wand as he desperately tried to wipe the webbing out of his eyes and mouth.

"_Incendio!_" Felix heard Aiden bark just before a flash of orange flames lit up the common room. A sharp squeal pierced Felix's ears and he heard Aiden whistle and swear under his breath.

By the time he had wiped the worst of the webbing away, he looked up and saw a black scorch mark on the stone ceiling where the giant spider had been. Silk embers were falling down towards the ground, but Aiden waved his wand again and made them vanish before they hit the rugs.

"That was an ungodly thing," Aiden breathed out in satisfaction. "Thanks for your help, Felix. "You really took one for the team there."

Felix, who was still covered in sticky silk web, shrugged and said, "I regret helping now."

Aiden laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "I think you might want to have another shower before you go down to breakfast. I can vanish the web from your robes easily enough, but the last time I tried to do it with something stuck in someone's hair they ended up bald."

"Who was it?" Felix couldn't recall anyone walking around Hogwarts without any hair in his time at the school.

"Oh, it was Annalise a couple of years before she came to Hogwarts. I accidentally stuck some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum in her hair."

Felix thought even a bald Annalise Greengrass would have been attractive, just maybe not when she was nine. He didn't say that to Aiden though, who was still grinning fondly at the memory.

"What year were you in when you did that?" Felix asked.

"First."

"A vanishing charm is a bit complicated for a first year, isn't it?"

"As proven by my bald little sister. Hold still for a second. I'll clean up your robes."

Aiden pointed his wand at Felix. He flicked his wand and the sticky webbing on Felix's chest and shoulders disappeared. "_We_ know its webbing, but others might think it looks like something else."

Felix frowned and tried to think of what else looked like the pale, sticky webbing still staining his face and dark hair.

Aiden laughed and pocketed his wand. "I'm gonna run to breakfast. See you around, Felix."

"Yeah, see you," Felix said half-heartedly as he turned around and marched back to the dormitories.

The bathrooms were completely deserted when Felix walked back in with his towel and proceeded to scrub his face and hair with as much soup and shampoo as he could. When he was sure the last of the webbing was out of his hair, he towelled off, dressed in his robes again and rushed out of the dormitory.

After Aiden and the spider, he had almost forgotten why he had been so troubled.

Felix was sure he would find at least one of his dorm mates at breakfast, but the Gryffindor table was sparsely populated. He even eyed the other long tables in case one of them had decided to breakfast with someone from another house.

He was gazing up the Slytherin table when someone bumped into him from behind.

"Watch it," a Hufflepuff fifth year with a large nose said.

Felix ignored him. Failing to spot Connor or Teddy, Felix approached the Gryffindor table, where Joanna Fawley was reading a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. She had her hair braided over her shoulder this morning in a style Felix had never seen her wear before. It was another difference to add to the pile of differences weighing Felix down.

"Morning, Felix," Joanna said brightly as Felix slid into the seat next to her. "You're looking . . . a bit pale, actually."

"What's up with your hair today?" Felix asked bluntly.

"Do you like it?" Joanna touched the braids and smiled. "Cecelia did it before breakfast."

"It's okay." Felix shrugged.

Joanna rolled her eyes and went back to an article about a raid on an old Wizarding mansion performed by aurors last night.

"Have Teddy and Connor been to breakfast this morning?" Felix asked as he grabbed a bowl and filled it with cereal.

"Not that I've seen," Joanna said.

Felix looked back up the hall before leaning in close to Joanna. "I think something _strange_ happened during their detention last night."

Joanna raised a golden eyebrow as she shot him a sidelong look and pushed him away with her elbow. "You're being a bit dramatic, aren't you?"

"No!" Felix shook his head. "I think ..." he leaned in close to Joanna again. "I think Professor Longbottom put a charm on them."

Joanna laughed out loud and closed her copy of the Daily Prophet. "What makes you say that?"

"When they got back last night, they were talking to each other and laughing about stuff."

Joanna's face turned serious. "Laughing about what?"

"I dunno. They were _talking_, Jo. They never talk!" Then Felix caught the amused sparkle in Joanna's eyes. "Don't laugh at me, I'm being serious."

"Don't be stupid, Felix," Joanna laughed. "A teacher wouldn't use _magic_ to make two students get along."

"But how do you _know_ that?" Felix hissed. "You weren't there last night. It was weird."

"So you keep saying." Joanna elbowed him again and selected a puffy blueberry muffin from one of the breakfast trays. "I think it's brilliant if they're starting to become friends."

"I'm not saying it's not _brilliant_."

"What are you saying, then?"

Felix shrugged and searched for words. "It's just . . . _strange_."

Joanna rolled her eyes. "Well they're here now." Joanna nodded towards the pair of great doors. "You can ask them."

Felix looked over his shoulder and saw Teddy and Connor walking into the Great Hall together. They were both dressed in their school robes and had their book bags ready for class. Teddy had rid himself of Joanna's honey hair. It was dark blue today, with eyebrows to match. He and Connor were talking amiably, both grinning at some unheard joke.

"Where have you two been?" Felix asked (demanded) as Teddy and Connor sat down opposite him and Joanna.

"We had a meeting with Longbottom and Cousland," Teddy said as he grabbed three different muffins from the tray and put them on his plate.

"Did you know Cousland has a portrait of a medieval wizard slaying a dragon in his office?" Connor added. "It takes up half his wall."

"Connor couldn't keep his eyes off it," Teddy said. "I thought he was going to ask to take it with him."

"A thousand years ago Professor Cousland's ancestors were renowned dragon slayers," Connor said excitedly.

"Which means that only a few of them weren't eaten alive," Teddy said, rolling his eyes. "It's really not that exciting, Connor."

"Two-and-a-half years ago I didn't even know that dragons were real. Give me a break."

Felix held onto his breath, sure that an argument was about to break out and make his morning more-or-less normal again, but Connor was smiling, and Teddy was grinning back.

"Fair enough, I suppose," Teddy said and bit into one of his claimed muffins

_What?_

"What was the meeting with Professor Longbottom and Professor Cousland about?" Joanna asked. At least _she_ was managing to keep her head.

"Oh, yeah. Me and Teddy are on behaviour contracts," Connor said, pulling a folded piece of parchment out of his pocket. He passed it to Joanna, who spread it out over her copy of the Daily Prophet.

"'I, Connor Lennox, of sound mind and magic,'" Joanna read aloud. "'Solemnly swear to uphold the rules and regulations of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from this day until the first day of the Christmas vacation. I recognise that failing to adhere to this contract could result in my immediate suspension or expulsion from Hogwarts'."

Connor had scrawled his name across a line at the bottom of the contract, right next to Professor Couslands.

"'Of sound mind and magic'," Felix said. "I wonder what they'd write if you were a squib?"

Connor grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"That's a pretty serious contract," Joanna said. "They'll expel you if you break any more rules?"

"It depends on what we do," Teddy said. He pulled his contract out of his robes and tossed it on top of Connor's. "I don't think they'll kick us out for letting off a dungbomb during Potions, but if Connor starts flinging around pumpkins again and putting people in the Hospital Wing, they'll probably expel him, yeah."

"That would be a suspension, at most," Connor disagreed. "I'd have to try to kill someone to be expelled, I reckon."

"Number one on the list, right there," Teddy said darkly, and nodded his head towards the Hufflepuff table. Felix, Joanna and Connor all followed Teddy's gaze towards Lance Avery, who was breakfasting with others from his house.

Joanna swiped at Teddy's head, forcing the blue-haired boy to lean back out of arm's reach. "Don't speak like that," she said. "Lance is usually really nice, Ted."

"You saw what he did to me before Astronomy!" Teddy argued.

"I said 'usually'," Joanna said, shifting in her seat. "And don't play the martyr, Lupin! He was just getting you back for those Swelling Strawberries. You brought it on yourself."

Teddy seemed to swell up, but before he could argue further, Connor piped in. "We also have to stay away from Lance and Abney Avery," said Connor. "It's not in the contracts, but Cousland made it pretty clear. They have to stay away from us too. I'm sure Abney was put on a contract too after what he did to Lachlan Trent."

"Who's Lachlan Trent again?" Teddy asked.

"That first year Abney was bullying," Connor said.

"That's right! He's really flippen short, right? Like, shorter than all the other first years?"

"That sounds right."

"I think he's one of Victoire's friends." Teddy craned his neck and searched down the table, no doubt looking for the first Weasley in generations to be born without red-hair.

The bell signalling the immanent start of first period rang like a funeral dirge. All of the food that had not been wrapped up in napkins and hidden away in bags vanished from the tables, crumbs and all.

"No!" Teddy exclaimed, looking sadly at the empty space where his muffin-filled plate had been. "I forgot to take the muffins."

Connor almost laughed, but his mouth was full of muffin and he ended up spraying crumbs over the table in front of Felix and Joanna.

Joanna shot him a look of disgust.

"What have we got today?" Teddy asked, still sounded dejected.

"History of Magic all morning," Connor said, after swallowing.

Teddy groaned. "Kill me now."

"Do you know what Binn's is talking about today?"

"We're still on medieval witch hunts," Joanna said. "The topic's not _that_ boring."

"But Binns is," Teddy said. "When I was doing research for that essay of his over the summer, I read about a wizard who travelled around releasing other wizards and witches from muggle gaols. There was a muggle inquisitor who knew enough about magic to take their wands, so they were stuck. The inquisitor chased this wizard all around Paris, but never managed to capture him."

"I think I've read about him too," Joanna said. "Wasn't he a Peverell?"

Teddy nodded. "Edward Peverell. He was one of my godfather's ancestors from more than a thousand years ago."

"Interesting."

"I don't think Binns knows that word." Teddy sighed and turned to Connor. "Want to eat a puking pastille and have the morning off? We could say inhaling all those fumes last night made us sick."

"That's pushing your behaviour contract a bit, isn't it?" Joanna said, before Connor could answer.

Teddy's face fell. "Oh, yeah, probably."

"I was going to finish that Animagus essay Cousland set us," Connor said. "I get most of my homework done during History of Magic."

"That's a good idea," Teddy said. "You reckon I have enough time to run back to the dormitory for my Transfiguration stuff?"

Felix was wondering the same thing, but a quick look at his dad's old watch told him that there was no way they could get to Gryffindor Tower and back by nine. As boring as Binns was, he always noticed when someone was late to his class and _always_ made them make up the missed time at lunch or dinner. "Nah, class starts in five minutes," he told Teddy.

Teddy scowled and looked so crestfallen it made Felix laugh.

The Great Hall was rapidly emptying as students made their way to first period. Joanna folded her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and placed it neatly in her book bag. Felix slung his own bag over his shoulder as he stood up

As they left the Great Hall, Teddy and Connor leading the way towards the History of Magic classroom on the first floor, Felix shot a _very_ significant look at Joanna and nodded his head towards his roommates.

"_Charmed_," he mouthed.

Joanna shrugged her slim shoulders and smiled.

* * *

\- Teddy's Plan -

And

\- Victoire Weasley -

* * *

Predictably, History of Magic was a dull affair. Teddy spent the lessons with his chin in his palm, wondering if Binns would notice if he pulled out his wand and set the waste-paper basket on fire. His hand was in his pocket and his fingers . . . fingered his wand. All he had to do was pull it out, point it at the waste-paper basket and say the magic word, and History of Magic would become slightly more practical.

Then he remembered the contract he had signed and thought better of his poorly-thought plan.

He wasn't the only one in the third year class who was bored. Felix had his head in both his hands, and was tapping his feet against the stone floor in a steady beat, much to the annoyance of Joanna Fawley, who occasionally twisted in her chair to shoot Felix a deadly look. Felix didn't notice Joanna's glares, and Binns didn't notice Felix's tapping.

Cecelia Dearborn was sitting next to Joanna near the front of the classroom. She had her hair in braids too, and Teddy thought they suited her infinitely better than they did Joanna. If he concentrated he could almost smell the fruitiness from her shampoo.

What Teddy really wished, though, is that he had though to bring some of his homework to class so he could knock that out of the way. He would have even settled for his textbook on the Witch Hunts (which he had forgotten in the rush to make it to Cousland's office in time), because at least that could be an interesting read.

Well, maybe he wished that Cecelia Dearborn was his girlfriend more than he wished he had his homework.

But that lead him to his dilemma.

This was one of the reasons he hated History of Magic.

He got to thinking too much.

And he really didn't want to think about that big-eyed, brunette and the way she made his insides twist with desire and shame he was barely old enough to understand.

_She hates me_.

And now Teddy reached the crux of his dilemma.

He had never been particularly _kind_ to Cecelia Dearborn. In fact, he had been positively _awful._ He knew that it (whatever _it_ was) had started back at Wizarding Primary, when, out of all the kids at the primary, she was the only one who never seemed impressed by his talents as a metamorphmagus. In fact, she had been significantly _unimpressed_.

Her eyes drove him insane.

Cecelia's eyes were dark blue, but somehow filled with so many colours Teddy had never been able to replicate very well. It wasn't just the colours that stood out to him, but their size as well. She had the largest eyes Teddy had ever seen before, almost popping out of her face (well, not really). They were so deep and bright and beautiful. Teddy had to be hung upside down by his ankle to realise how much he _liked_ Cecelia's big, insect-like eyes.

He looked down at his scrap of parchment and stared at the letters C.D he had drawn in large, loopy letters.

Then, Teddy Lupin had a thought.

He had these types of thoughts often. Some were quite cunning and involved transforming into Treddy to infiltrate the kitchens, others were not so wise and involved cursing Cecelia's eyes while hanging from his ankle.

Teddy was quite sure _this_ particular thought was one of the former.

When the bell rang after three hours of boring Binns, with only a fifteen minute break in the middle to remind the third years that there was light outside the History of Magic classroom, Teddy left the classroom with an excited skip in his step.

Remember, at thirteen years old, Teddy Lupin had very little concept about love, but he would learn.

He also heard the house-elves were serving burgers for lunch.

The Great Hall was already quite full when Teddy walked through the doors with the rest of the third years who had been stuck in History of Magic. Joanna and Cecelia quickly walked to the Ravenclaw table to sit with Annalise Greengrass and her friends. Teddy's heart gave a painful twinge and he quickly looked away.

"You guys go on," Teddy said to Felix and Connor, who had stopped when they realised Teddy wasn't following them.

Connor and Felix exchanged a glance, shrugged and went to sit with some of the members of Gryffindor's Quidditch team.

It didn't take Teddy long to find the girl he wanted.

Well, not _wanted_ wanted.

You get the idea.

"Hullo, Victoire," Teddy Lupin said jovially. He sat next to the silvery blonde and stole her attention away from the salad-filled bun on her plate. He also happened to steal the seat of an unfortunate first year who, after months of summoning courage, moved to sit next to Victoire Weasley.

Neither Teddy or Victoire noticed.

"Oh, hello, Edward," Victoire said. She always called him "Edward", which always gave him the distinct impression that he was being told off for some offence.

"How are you settling in?" he asked her. "We haven't really spoken since the train."

"No, we haven't have we," Victoire said casually. She pushed her thick, silky hair back with one hand. She smelt lightly of apples. "It's been fun. Hogwarts is better than I imagined it would be."

"I'm glad you're in Gryffindor," Teddy said. "Did I ever tell you that?"

Victoire shook her head. "Nope."

"Oh. Well, I am."

"Thanks." Victoire smiled.

Victoire's first year friends were sneaking subtle glances at him and Victoire, but Teddy ignored them, blissfully unaware of the significance of those glances. "I thought we could have lunch together and chat." Teddy grabbed a hamburger bun from the nearest pile and began loading it with meat patties, cheese and salads. "We're practically family. We have to look out for each other."

"Mhmm?" Victoire raised a perfectly slender eyebrow. "What did you want to chat about?"

Teddy shrugged. "How are you finding Charms?"

"I think I've decided Charms is my favourite class," Victoire said. She reached into her robes and pulled out a pale wand as slender and delicate as her eyebrow. It was a little bit shorter than Teddy's wand. He guessed it was about eleven inches, compared with Teddy's twelve-and-a-half. "Mr Ollivander told me my wand was perfect for Charms."

Victoire barely hesitated before placing her wand into Teddy's hand. He gave it what he considered an expert wave, before handing it back to its owner. "It's very nice," he said. "It reminds me of a flower stem."

Victoire's eyes seemed to harden, ever so slightly.

"In a good way!" Teddy said quickly. He pulled his own wand out of his pocket and handed it to her. His wand was cherry brown, and had a slight curve in the wood. "Ollivander said mine was good for duelling."

"I remember you saying that when you first got it," Victoire said.

"I like Defence Against the Dark Arts best," Teddy said. "Has DeWitt started teaching you how to duel yet?"

Their conversation remained light for the rest of the meal. Teddy was ravenous after missing breakfast and ate three and a half, fully packed burgers. Victoire watched him eat with a stunned look on her face. About halfway through his second burger, Victoire's friends got up and left. They waited for a second to see if Victoire was going to leave too, but when she laughed brightly at one of Teddy's jokes, they gave her up as lost.

"So, Victoire," Teddy said, suddenly serious.

"So, Edward." Victoire matched his tone.

"I kind of have a question to ask you."

"'Kind of'?"

"I _do_ have a question to ask you."

Victoire raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"I, kind of. . ." he quickly corrected himself. "Not 'kind of' . . . I _like_ this girl, but I've been kind of . . . I've _been_ a bit of a douche to her lately."

Victoire couldn't repress the smile that grew after all of Teddy's corrections.

"You're laughing at me," Teddy said.

"Yes." Victoire's white smile flashed. She grabbed his arm as he made to get up. "No! Stay, Edward, I want to hear."

"Don't laugh, this is _kind of _embarrassing."

Victoire smirked. "So you like this girl, but you've been a bit of a dick to her and you want advice?"

_Trust Victoire to stab the heart of the problem._ "Yes."

"How big of a git have you been?"

Teddy thought for a moment. "Quite a big one."

She put out her hands and formed a scale. "Scale of one to ten."

Teddy hovered his hand just below Victoire's right hand at the top of the hand-graph. Victoire let out a long whistle. "A nine out of ten git. That's hard to come back from."

"You're not helping me," Teddy said. "It's probably more a ten-of-ten git, actually."

"Okay, okay." Victoire thought for a moment, a frown creasing her smooth skin. "Do I know her?"

"Does that matter?"

"Maybe."

"You would have seen her around."

"Being a git is _kind of_ hard to come back from," Victoire said eventually. "I think the first thing you should do it apologise to this girl, then be really nice to her. Take the time to actually stop and say hi to her when you see her. That will let her know that you're interested in her."

"Sounds easy enough," Teddy said.

"Matters of the heart are never easy," Victoire said, unwittingly showing wisdom beyond her eleven years. "And they can take some time."

"Hmm." Teddy frowned.

"I think you need to be really honest with this girl. You should just tell her how you feel and I'm sure she'll respond."

_Be honest_. Teddy chewed the idea over. He could be honest. Being honest fit perfectly with his budding plan.

Remember, at eleven years old, Victoire didn't know much about love either, but she still knew more than Teddy.

"Thanks, Victoire " Teddy said. "I knew talking to you was a good idea. We should really talk more often."

Victoire smile could have warmed stones.

"Oh, yeah." Teddy snapped his fingers. "Hagrid wanted me to ask you if you wanted to have tea with us on Sunday. Did I ever tell you that?"

Victoire shook her head. "Nope," she said.

Oh. Well, he did."

"I'd love to go. It sounds like fun."

"Sunday then. I'll meet you in the Common Room at two." Teddy grinned. "Anyway, gotta run," he had just spotted Connor and Teddy walk by. "I've got Herbology all afternoon and I need to get changed. Thanks again!"

God, or destiny, or whatever you want to call it, winked.

* * *

\- The Night Before the First Game -

\- Friday Night Blues -

* * *

Teddy and Connor trudged back to the Common Room, exhausted and covered in the foul smelling oils Filch provided them for cleaning.

"He knows how bad it smells," Teddy complained. "He gives us that shit on _purpose_. I bet he's got magical oil that smells like apples in his storeroom. He just wants us to suffer."

Connor's mood was almost as foul as Teddy's, and he nodded vehemently. Filch made them oil each portrait _twice_ that night, because he was _certain_ Teddy had put his fingers all over the frames. All of Teddy's outraged protests only seemed to give Filch greater pleasure.

"He only kept us back so late because it's Friday night and he knows he can get away with it," Teddy ranted. "It's fucking _bullshit!"_

Usually, Teddy's drama was a bit over the top, but tonight Connor thought it was justified. Filch _had_ kept them late on purpose. He was close to joining Teddy in a mean-spirited (yet justified – keyword) rant against Argus Filch.

Some of the portrait's opened their eyes and scowled at the two boys as they hurried along the seventh floor corridor.

"Such language!" one of the portraits, a tired old man said in a huff.

"_Disgraceful!"_

Every bone in Connor's body seemed to ache. Jenna had rode them hard in Quidditch practice that evening. She had dragged them out of supper after ten minutes (she pulled a chicken drumstick out of Aiden Greengrass's hand and flung it down the table when he refused to move) and had them on brooms five minutes later. She was still stressed about the opening match with Ravenclaw on Saturday morning. She forced them to run drill-after-drill, while glaring at them with a critical eye. Matthew Knight hadn't even been able to calm the depths of her wrath.

"Say, you're friends with Cecelia, right?" Teddy said, jerking Connor away from his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed when Teddy's rant reached its end. The other boy was much calmer now, and was scuffing his shoes on the floor almost nervously.

"Yeah. . ." Connor said slowly. "I mean, I only really see her in classes and in the Common Room."

"But you get on with her."

"I suppose so."

"What do you think of her?"

"She's cool. She's fine with having a bit of a joke around, I guess."

Teddy didn't reply.

"Why do you ask?" Connor asked curiously.

Teddy shrugged. "I've been a bit of a git to her."

"I suppose . . . you've made her cry a few times."

"Yeah. . ." Teddy almost sounded guilty.

"Do you not like her . . . or?"

"No, no," Teddy said quickly. "It's not that I don't _like_ her. I don't mind Cecelia. . ."

Both boys became acutely aware that their short friendship was beginning to cross into an area neither were comfortable discussing with each other yet. It was still early days.

And both boys suddenly become aware that they were actually becoming friends.

Though neither had any desire to discuss _that_ just yet, either.

"It's her eyes that bug me," Teddy whined, then laughed. "Ironically."

As soon as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, the portrait burst open and fair-haired Matthew Knight launched himself through the hole. He was still dressed in his red and gold quidditch robes from the practice three hours before.

"Hold on a second," Aiden Greengrass said from right on Matt's heels. Aiden had changed out of his quidditch uniform and was wearing his long, black cloak over his muggle clothing. "You can't go out, it's almost curfew."

"Since when have you cared about breaking curfew?" Matt shot back at his friend.

"It's the night before out first game, Matt. If Filch catches us, we'll be stuck in detention all day tomorrow."

The fifth and sixth year suddenly become aware of Connor and Teddy standing there.

"Ah, Connor, Teddy," Matt said awkwardly, nodding to the third years. "What are you two doing out?"

"We had detention," Connor said. Worry had etched its way over Matt's face. Aiden looked concerned too, though he was doing a much better job of keeping it contained than Matt was. "Is everything . . .?"

"You haven't seen Jen around, have you?" Matt said.

"Not since practice, sorry," Connor said. "She was still down there when I left. I had to go straight to detention."

"I'm telling you she's gone to bed already," Aiden insisted. He grabbed Matt's arm and tried to pull him back towards the portrait hole. "You know she likes to get an early one on game nights."

"Luce said she didn't see her up there," Matt retorted, and pulled his arm away.

"That doesn't mean she's not in bed," Aiden said. "She could have had her curtains close, or she was having a shower. Heck, she could have gone to use the Prefect bathroom. Luce gave her the password."

"I should have waited for her on the pitch," Matt said.

"Pince wasn't going to keep the library open for you," Aiden said.

"I should have waited."

"She's _fine_, Matt," Aiden said. "Look, we'll send one of the girls in the Common Room up to check again."

Matt rounded on Connor and Teddy. "Where did you have detention?"

"On the second floor portrait hall," Connor said.

"And you're sure you didn't see anyone?"

"Only Filch and Longbottom."

"I'm going to check the Quidditch pitch," Matt said to Aiden. "If we take the passage behind the old portrait of Duncan the Tall we can bypass the second floor and make it to the grounds without anyone noticing."

Aiden's face was unreadable. "Matt . . . don't you think you're being a bit . . ."

"A bit what?"

Connor didn't think _he _had the nerve to say what Aidan said, but the fifth year looked Matt right in the slightly manic eyes and said: "A bit . . . stalky."

"She's my girlfriend!" Matt said, outraged. "We've been dating for _two_ years."

"I know, but. . ."

"Forget it. I'll go check the pitch myself." Matt turned on his heel and stormed down the corridor.

Aiden released a long sigh. "I'm sure she's okay," he said, more to himself than Connor and Teddy. He looked down at the two third years and shrugged.

"Why does Matt think something's wrong?" Connor asked.

Aiden waved his hand. "They've had this tradition, ever since they both made the team and started dating. They always spend a couple of minutes on the night before a game . . . having a deep and meaningful." Aiden shrugged again.

"Is that code for something else?" Teddy asked slyly. Aiden smirked, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I don't think so. It's just a tradition they have to help calm pre-game jitters. Jenna never showed up tonight."

"Maybe she just forgot," Connor said.

"That's what I've been telling him. She'll probably turn up at his dormitory in half-an-hour and all of this . . . drama will be for nothing. Anyway, you two should go to bed. Big day tomorrow, Con."

Connor's insides twisted. "Are you going after him?" he pointed after Matt, who had just disappeared round a corner.

"Yeah," Aiden said. "He's my best mate, you know. Can't abandon him to Filch."

Aiden jogged away and quickly disappeared around the corner Matt had taken.

"That was pretty heavy," Teddy remarked.

"Yeah. . ." Connor agreed.

"I had no idea there was a passage that bypassed the second floor behind that portrait of Duncan the Tall."

"Neither did I." Connor still stared after Matt and Aiden.

"Are you two going to leave me open all night?!" The Fat Lady squawked indignantly.

* * *

\- Dead Men Don't Tell Tales -

\- As Thick as Blood -

* * *

Lance Avery had to walk slowly, placing each foot carefully so his shoes wouldn't echo through the hallways. It was long past curfew and the corridors were darker than the night outside, the flaming sconces extinguished by Old Filch and his assistant Marcus Ralph. Not for the first time he considered taking off his shoes so he could move quickly with less noise, but Abney had told him to go slowly, keeping his ears sharp for any sound that could get him caught.

The Entrance Hall was as still as death as he climbed up the basement stairs and made his way outside. He was immediately hit by the November ice that threatened to burrow its way into his flesh. He was glad for his shoes then.

He made his ways down the stone steps to the oak garden where he had rescued that little Gryffindor mudblood back in October. The garden was still, quieter than the castle had been. A chill crept its way down Lance's spine.

And this time it wasn't from the cold.

As he approached the massive oak tree, a tall figure dressed in black robes and a darker hood walked out from behind the tree and pointed his wand at Lance.

Lance was hit by the red-flash of a jinx before he could even touch his wand. His legs locked together and his jaw clenched so tightly his teeth ached. Worse, he didn't think he could scream for help even if he wanted to. It was only the hooded figure's wand that kept him standing.

"You're early," Garland said in a low voice as he pushed back his hood and grinned toothily at Lance. "Managed to get past Filch and his dog, did you?" Garland laughed and shook his wand between two fingers. Then, he curled his fingers into a fist and punched Lance as hard as he could.

Lance felt pain spread across his nose and cheek as Garland's blow forced him heavily to the ground. There was no breaking his fall, not with his arms pressed to his sides and legs locked together. Blood trickled out his nose and onto his lips. He could feel tears prickling his eyes. He was eternally thankful Garland couldn't see his face properly in the dark.

"I don't know what Abney is thinking, telling you to come with us," Garland snarled down at Lance. "You should have left that Gryffindor mudblood in the tree. You're a blood traitor; a disgrace to your _fucking_ name."

"Let him go, Garland."

Abney touched Garland on the shoulder and pulled him away. With his other hand, he waved his wand and released Lance from the body-bind curse. Lance spat out the mouthful of blood and pinched his nose closed. He blinked away his tears as he clambered shakily to his feet. Abney was wearing the exact same set of black robes and hood as Garland. If they didn't have their hoods down, they would have both faded into the darkness around the garden.

"All right, little brother?" Abney gripped Lance behind his head and grinned reassuringly. It wasn't lost on Lance that this was the first time Abney had shown any kind of concern for him since he had been Sorted into Hufflepuff.

Lance nodded, but Abney still frowned and looked over his shoulder at Garland. "Fix his nose," he ordered.

"Abney—" Garland began to protest.

"He's my brother, Derek!" Abney hissed. "And his blood is purer than yours."

Garland gritted his teeth and clenched his wand tightly. It looked like he was about to argue further, but he spat to the side and pointed his wand at Lance's face.

"Move your hand," he said bitterly.

Lance glanced at Abney, who nodded reassuringly, before moving his hand and letting Garland mutter an incantation under his breath. The trickle of blood from his left nostril quickly dried up and a soft click made him groan and rub his nose. But the pain was gone and his nose felt better than it did before he was punched.

"There we go," Abney said. "That looks much better. Just make sure you wash that blood off your face before morning. Otherwise people might start asking questions and you don't want that to happen."

Lance shook his head. He saw the dangerous glint underneath Abney's friendly mask.

"The others are waiting," Garland said. "We should go."

"The others can wait," Abney said. "I want to talk to my brother."

"Abney..."

"We'll be down soon."

Garland scowled at him, but obeyed. Abney and Lance waited until Garland had left the garden and was trudging towards the Forbidden Forest.

When Garland had disappeared into the night, Abney turned Lance around and walked him towards the tree at the end of the garden. "We haven't had much of a chance to talk, have we?" Abney said.

"Not really," Lance agreed in a small voice.

"How are classes going?"

"They're fine."

"Just 'fine'?"

"They're going well," Lance corrected. "I think I'm coming first in Transfiguration this year."

Lance could just make out Abney's smirk.

"That's good," Abney said.

They reached the tree and walked around to the other side, where the large knot in the trunk was. Lance eyed it uneasily.

"I wasn't happy when I heard what you did," Abney said.

. . .

"Neither was Uncle."

"You owled him?"

Abney ignored the question. "Your Confundus charm was quite effective. The mudblood had no idea where he actually was. Are you sure you're not coming first in Charms too?"

The compliment didn't make Lance's heart fill with warmth like it might have once, and it did nothing to help settle his unease.

"You're friends with that mudblood Lennox, aren't you?" Abney asked.

"No, not really," Lance said quickly. "I've talked to him a little bit, but I don't really like him much."

Abney was quiet for a moment, before saying: "Pity."

_Pity?_

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

"You should become friends with him," said Abney.

"Why?"

Abney gripped the back of Lance's neck tightly. "Because if I get within ten feet of that mudblood filth, Cousland and Lancaster will know!" Abney hissed furiously. "If they think that a week of detentions and a behaviour contract is enough punishment, then they're wrong! I want to grind that mudblood's blood into the dirt."

Abney touched his wand to the knot in the oak tree and muttered an incantation so quietly Lance couldn't even hear it. He didn't need to hear the incantation, anyway. Abney had shown him during his first year. He had only used it once before, and that was so he could pull that Gryffindor out of this very tree.

The tip of Abney's wand glowed for the briefest second and then the tree started to move.

_Is he going to put me in?_ Lance thought, terror suddenly striking him. _No, he won't. He said _we _will be down soon._ Then, more helplessly. _He's my brother._

The knot grew, widening and pulling apart like the old oak tree was silently screaming.

A gasp caught in Lance's throat.

Jenna O'Connor's blonde hair was so lank and dirty it looked almost black. Dirt and dust marred her unnaturally pale skin. Her face looked so gaunt and drained she almost looked like a corpse. It was her eyes that drew Lance's attention though. They were big and blue and full of terror as they looked desperately between Abney and Lance.

"Garland didn't take her getting between him and that mudblood Lennox too kindly," Abney said. There was something in his voice that Lance didn't like – it was something that he'd never heard in his brother before. "He took her on her way back up to the castle and put her in her."

Lance stared into Jenna's eyes, repulsed. He couldn't look away.

Abney tapped the knot again and the oak tree closed, hiding Jenna's terrified face from view.

"Don't you tell anyone about this Lance," Abney warned. "The water might be sweet, but blood is always thicker."

Lance blinked and Abney grinned toothily.

"Let's go see the rest of the dead."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This took me forever to write! Unfortunately, Dragon Age: Inquisition came out when I was 40% through this chapter. I had written the Connor talking to Longbottom Scene, most of Felix's suspicions, and more than half of the Dead Men scene with Lance Avery. When Dragon Age came, all my free time was spent playing that, and then other interests temporarily replaced Harry Potter and this story got put to the side. Over the past couple of days I had a burst of energy for this fic and wrote about 7000 words in a few days, right in time for the Witcher 3 to come out. . . It was probably a good thing I waited as long as I did, because this chapter goes a lot better than my original plan. I had nothing about Teddy and Connor's backstories, and nothing about Victoire either.

I feel like Teddy's character grew so much over the months (7, wow) between this chapter and the last. I have to keep in mind that my main characters are thirteen and younger, and still have so much growing and maturing to do.

I really would like any comments. You know what they say about reviews. . .

Peace.

Trackies.


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